


Superdupernatural

by BitterChocolateStars



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bones Breaking, Graphic Description, Grif's got it covered though, Multi, Temporary Character Death, graphic description of a panic attack, mentions of starving, simmons is an idiot, tagging things as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-19 12:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4746719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterChocolateStars/pseuds/BitterChocolateStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moving to a new town. Meeting new people. Learing new things about himself and the world around him. Finding mystery and danger. This isn't what Richard Simmons had planned for his future, but when you have a nasty habit of coming back from the dead you don't really get much of a choice.<br/>What do Frankenstein's monster and a warewolf have in common? Not a whole lot, but that isn't stopping them from grudgingly falling down that slippery slope of love. </p><p>That's if they can survive the sudden influx of angry/crazed fae.<br/>What the hell is going on?<br/>And why does the resident undead nerd seem to be the root of the problem?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breathe Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated for plot changes, also Death is now sassier than before.

 

 

 He remembers.  

Floating in the darkness. 

He was afraid.

Terrified.

But here.

In the all consuming inky blackness of the void.

He feels numb.

Where was he?

Was this... Did he die?

He remembers.

The angry men.

The fire.

The screaming.

The pain.

Oh god the pain. 

Everything hurt.

But now...

Nothing.

His body was numb.

He feels empty.

Until he doesn't.

Something fills him.

A bliss.

Almost bursting from his pores.

It hurts.

His eyes open.

 Or were they always open?

He doesn't remember.

There's a light.

Was this it?

Was this his death?

_ Back again Richard _

_ You seem very adept at courting me _

A voice?

Who?

Who was talking to him?

_ And a natural at avoiding me _

_ Your mother would be proud _

_ Once again someone will not let you go _

_ Who is it this time _

_ Oh well if it isn't my favorite nut job _

_ His hold is strong _

What was happening?

Was he dead or wasn't he?

_ No _

_ You will live Richard Simmons _

_You are needed_

_Your life will guide many to absolution_

_Interesting life you lead boy_

Interesting?  

Something placed their hand on his chest.

Over his heart.

It burned.

Stop! 

Please!

It hurts!

_ It will always hurt _

_ Life is just that way _

_ But _

_ The pain will dull _

Fingers trailed down his face, leaving behind painful icy trails that burned his skin.

_Life forces itself back into your body _

_ I cannot stop it _

_anymore than you can _

_you are chosen_

What?

No! 

He didn't want to go back.

It hurt less here.

In this weightless bliss.

_ You have courted me a second time _

_ I pray you do not find a third reason to come see me until it is your due time _

_ but it is you _

_ i must remember that _

The thing placed a gentle kiss upon his brow.

Simmons screamed.

He woke to a world on fire.

Breath filled lungs past their time.

His still heart beat once more in his chest.

He felt the cold metal table under him.

Alive.

He was alive.

Simmons screamed.


	2. Welcome to the nieghborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> most of these chapters are going to be kinda short

Something smelled different. The wolf was curious as it followed the new smell to the small cottage that had been sitting abandoned for a few years now. That didn't seem to be the case now. A few of the windows were flickering with a soft yellow fire light.

The wolf kept its distance when it picked up another smell. Something... not quite human. It was getting closer too. The wolf spotted a tall man come walking around the side if the house.  He held an arm full if wood. The wolf cocked its head and stalked the man around the other side if the house. As he went the wolf noticed something off about his arm and face.

The man suddenly halted. Tense. "I know you're there!" He called out. The wolf froze. It must have given itself away somehow. The man turned and looked in the wolf's direction. "Well? Are you going to skulk around all night?" He called out despite sounding terrified.

The wolf took the challenge. Slinking out of the tree's. He let out a low curious whine. Wanting to see what the man would do.

The man stared at him, eyes wide. He dropped the wood in his arms. Startling the wolf. "Fuck this." He said flatly. Turning to go into his house. The wolf followed behind him. Before the man got in the house the wolf let out a whine. "Fuck off." The man huffed. He opened his door and jumped when something sniffed his hand. Letting loose a shriek he spun around to face the wolf.

The wolf stared back at him. The man smelled different. Not quite human, not quite something else. The wolf leaned in to sniff at the man again, only to have the man swat his nose away.

"Go away!" The man hissed. "I don't care what kind if instincts you have, I'm not about to be eaten on my third day here!"

The wolf hung back and watched the man back slowly into his home and shut the door.

* * *

 

The wolf came again the next night.

Creeping around the border of the man's property until he was noticed. He found it strange that no matter where he tried to hide, the man always seemed to know he was there.

The man lifted his head and stared out into the trees. Directly at the spot where the wolf had tucked himself.

"Are you seriously still here?" The man called out to him.

The wolf growled lowly. This was his third hiding spot in an hour. The man didn't even need to glance around to know he was there. Maybe the man could smell him? But he didn't scent the air like the wolf did.

He hears the man huff. He stood from his chair and walked into the house, not closing the door behind himself. Was he inviting the wolf in?

No. The man stepped back out with something in his hands.

MEAT.

The wolf can smell it. Raw, juicy meat. He can feel his mouth salivate. Creeping around the strangers home for the past two days has not given him time to hunt.

The man sets the bowl of meat at the bottom of his steps.

"Uh, I... Really don't want to be eaten." The man announces.

For him? The wolf steps from the tree line, watching the man warily back up the steps. He walks back to the chair he'd been sitting in moments ago. Picking up the strange thing he'd been plucking at before.

The other him knew what it was. The other him was curious about it, amused.

The wolf paid no mind. He instead focused on his offering of meat. He liked this strange smelling man who offered meat and could find him in the darkness.

He promised himself he would come again the next night to see what the man would do.


	3. Hi, i'm your friendly neighborhood werewolf

 

 

 

This was their routine.

 Every other night the wolf would creep on to the mans property and demand attention. Be it actively interacting or simply lounging around to watch him do minor repairs around the house. After the fourth visit the man stopped being bothered by the large wolf's presence. He would even talk to the wolf as he worked. Threaten to feed the wolf dog food when it wouldn't get out if his way. It was almost as if the man knew what it was.

Today the man was carrying a couple of boxes into the house from the shed. While he walked he sang to himself. The wolf snorted. Amused by the mans antics. He had no idea what the man was singing but the other him knew and seemed amused by it as well. The other him was always amused by this man. It made the wolf happy knowing they agreed about liking the man. They rarely agreed on anything else, except for food, they always agreed when it came to food. 

The other him disagreed.

The dead mouse was one time. The wolf reminded. Done out of curiosity.

They lounged on the porch listening to the mans off key singing.

There was a change in the air. A shift of atmosphere. The singing stopped. Their eyes snapped open just in time to watch their companion collapse on the ground. The wolf panicked. Springing up and rushing to the mans side. The man was thin, almost  gaunt . He smelled sickly. He wasn't eating enough, the wolf decided. The wolf grabbed the  mans  shirt between its teeth and drug him through the open door of the cottage. They left the man lying in the room with the fireplace to keep him warm. The wolf left again through the door and vanished into the woods.

At 7am Dexter Grif pulled up to his new neighbors house. He climbed out of his truck and trudged up to the door. Still as he left it an hour ago. Wide open for anything to get in.  Grif still wasn't sure what he was doing here, other than dropping off half his kill as the wolf in his head was demanding, and making sure the man inside wasn't dead.

He finds the man sitting up against the couch. He looks up when Grif walks into the room. Instead of screaming and yelling like Grif expects, the man looks at him and simply says.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Grif repeats questioningly. Was this guy seriously not freaked out by a stranger in his home.

"I always wondered what your human form looked like."  The man continues. Rubbing at his head.

"My human form?"  Grif asked, pretending he didn't know what the guy was talking about. The guy called his bullshit judging by the look in his face.

"For a while I figured you were a permanent change." 

"Okay hold up. How on earth did you know what I was?" The guy smelled Human, for the most part.

The guy shrugged. "I can sense the unusual." The guy pause seeming to realize the situation. "Why are you in my house?"

"You passed out on the porch. I dragged  you in here then decided to come back and check on you. You didn't find it weird to wake up on your floor?"

The guy blushed. "It happens more often than you'd think." Is all he says on the subject.

Grif glances down at his thin body. "Right, I brought you over a house warming  present." He lifts up the bag he's been holding. 

Simmons frowns. "That's not been dripping in my floor right?"

Grif glances behind himself. There's a trail  o f  red tinged water leading from the door to where he's standing. "Uh..."

"Oh son of a bitch! Do you know how long it took me to clean that carpet?"

This will mark the first of many arguments.  Their first doesn't last longer than Grif making a noncommittal grunt and holding out the bag for Simmons to take.

The man sighs. Standing on weak legs to take the bag from him. "Thank you I guess."

"You guess?" Grif snorts. "Do you even know the argument I had with my wolf about how much to bring you? It was annoying Simmons."

Simmons freezes.  Hand frozen between them.

"What?" Grif asks, sensing the change in the man.

"How did you know my name?"

Grif rolls his eyes. "You introduced yourself three nights ago. If I remember your exact words were 'I'm Simmons, and since you can't speak I'm going to just call you tubby cause you're so round'." he mocked.

"You ate my shoe." Simmons mutters.

"Of course I ate your fuckin shoe. What the fuck kind of name is Tubby you asshole." Grif snorted.

"To be fair I didn't think you could understand me." Simmons defends, taking the bag. "Now that I think about it..." He adds once he  begins walking towards the kitchen . "What's your name?"

"Now you think to ask." Grif snorts. "It's Grif. Dexter Grif, don’t call me Dexter."

"Alright. I guess I should add that my first name is Richard, don't call me Richard. Or Dick."

Grif smirks. "What if you're being a dick? Can I call you Dick then?" 

Simmons scowls but doesn't look surprised at the question. "Ha ha. I've heard that one before. Try harder."  He opens his freezer and tosses the bag inside the bare space. He opens his fridge next and pulls out a package of ham and cheese. The fridge is painfully bare as well  Grif  notes.

"So why don't you eat?"  Grif asks. Taking a seat at the small kitchen island. Watching the other man putter around the counter making himself a sandwich.

"It's not that I don't eat, it's that I forget to. I don't really feel hunger pains." Simmons shrugs.

" I still don't understand."  Grif admits.

"Look, it's hard to explain. I'm like... Frankenstein's monster and you're a giant wolf every other night. There are some things that can't be explained properly." The man shrugs again. Grif knows immediately that it's going to get on his nerves.

"Frankenstein's monster?" Grif said slowly. Eyebrow quirking up.

Simmons smirked. "You're looking at a walking talking corpse." He stated frankly.

So that's why he smelled weird! He was a deathling. A creature that's felt the touch of death and lived.

"Is that why you have the prosthetic arm and the metal plating under your left eye?"  They were well hidden to the untrained eye, hidden away under synthetic skin,  but the wolf had picked up on them the first night. He regretted the question when he was hit with the scent of anxiety from Simmons.

"Yeah." Is all he's willing to say. The lines of his body tense.

Grif doesn't mind. It's not his business. The sandwich that Simmons places in front of him on the other hand. That is most definitely his business. Free food was always Grifs business. The wolf agrees, rumbling contently in Grif's head. Grif wonders if Simmons has ever read 'If you feed a mouse a cookie'.

"If there's one thing I can make without it bursting into flames, it's a sandwich." Simmons chuckles.  "I nearly burned my apartment down around my ears once. All I'd tried to do was make soup."

Grif chokes on the bite of sandwich in his mouth. That would probably explain the empty fridge. Dear god. Who let this nerd try to be an adult? He silently vows to teach this idiot how to cook. A man can't live off sandwiches alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for my werewolf ideas,  
> i like to imagine it as 'two minds that share a single body'  
> While they are the same person, they aren't... if that makes any sense.  
> like Grif and the wolf share personality traits while also having diffrent ones from the other.  
> Grif is pretty laidback, while the wolf will get riled up easily. Though they will tend to bleed together, depending on Grif's emotional state, or the time of the month.  
> they can talk to each other. Not through words, more like through feelings and images considering wolves can't speak.


	4. Shine bright like a... Donut?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grif drags Simmons into town.  
> It's time to start meeting other people.

 

"It's easy Simmons." Grif groans for the eighth time in ten minutes.

"No it's not!"

"You just have to move the spoon!"

"Grif, I was a mathematics major! Not a chef!" Simmons snapped. Jabbing at Grif with the spoon he was using to stir the soup on the stove.

"Dude stop." The other man huffed, swatting the spoon away.  He reaches over and turns the burner off before Simmons can completely ruin the simple stew.  "This is going terribly. I'm taking you to town so you can get some actual ingredients."  And a few other things. Best not overhwhelm the poor guy by telling him that though.

Simmons suddenly looks nervous.

Oh my god. "Don't tell me you haven't been to town yet?!" It's been a month and a half since he got here. There's no way he couldn't have gone into town at some point.

"I haven't. It's not that though!" Simmons protests. "It's just stressful being around so many unusuals."

Grif stiffens. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asks coldly.

Simmons picks up on the tone. His face flushing bright red. "I can sense them. All of them. At once." He explains quickly. "It gives me a headache."  

The wolf whines In sympathy. It too knows what it's like to be overwhelmed with so many scents in one place.

He doesn't scent people. Grif reminds the wolf. He doesn't know what Simmons does to 'sense the unusual'.

Simmons blinks in surprise. "Do that again." He says suddenly.

"Do what?" Grif asks confused.

"Whatever you did just then." 

That clarified nothing. Grif ran through his thoughts, before feeling the wolf shift in irritation.

"That!" Simmons says. Reaching out to touch the air in front of Grif before remembering himself and snatching his hand back. "I've never noticed that before."

"What?!" Grif demands.  He was starting to get weirded out.

"The wolf. I can sense when he's closer to the surface. What are you doing to make that happen?" Simmons asks curiously.

"Talking to him?" Grif  guesses, shaking his head." Distracting me isn't getting you out of going to town. Go get your shoes."

Simmons pouts but does as he's told. Once in the car he turns to Grif and squints.  Grif can tell he's buried in his own head. Thinking over something.

"You're going to bug the shit out of me if you keep staring." Grif snaps. The wolf on the other hand likes the attention. Grif can't figure out why.

"Sorry." Simmons mutters, not sounding sorry at all. "I've never been around a werewolf longer than an hour before. Let alone an entire month. Usually they're put off by my smell. Whatever the hell that means."

"You smell like death." Grif clarifies for him. Judging by the offended look on Simmons face he doesn't understand. "Not rotting corpse smell. But like a... A... Fuck." He isn't sure how to explain the smell. "It's like when you go to the dentist, and they numb your mouth. It smells like that."

"I smell numb." Simmons repeats skeptically. 

"Kind of. I don't know. You smell like wood chips  and metal, but only... Half of you. Its like the rest of your scent is numb." Grif struggles to explain. "Look it's fucking hard to translate okay?"

Simmons hums. Sitting back in his seat. "What do werewolves smell like?" He asks.

"I don't know. Usually we just smell like wolves. We have our own distinct scent, but the base one is wolf."  Grif  explains.

"What about vampires?" 

Grif glances at him. Simmons looked eager to learn. Face open and interested by the information he was being told. "Blood. A sickly sweet copper. They aren't truly deathlings so they don't smell numb like you. It's-"

"Like their bodies are alive but their hearts can't pump fresh blood like ours can. Almost like a biological disease. I know." Simmons interrupts. 

Grif quirks an eyebrow. "Where did you learn that?" Normal human schools didn't teach children about Unusuals, beyond the riots and the wars.

"I was taking classes." Simmons shrugs. He looks uncomfortable suddenly.

"I thought you were a mathematics major?" Grif  questions.

"I am- or I was."

Grif studies his face. Simmons doesn't look or smell like he's lying. "I didn't think they had classes on us at human schools." He prods.

"They don't." Simmons admits. "I was taking classes from someone who didn't work at the school. A doctor that lived on the edge of town." He says. Looking desperately like he wanted the conversation to stop there.

Grif drops the subject when they pull on to the main road in town. "Okay so we're going to Donut's first." He tells Simmons as they park out front.

"Doesn't he run a salon?" Simmons asks as they climb from the jeep.

"So you've met him already?" Grif asks.

"Once. The day I first got here, but it's hard to forget someone that bright." He nods. 

Bright? Grif wants to ask. He doesn't get the chance. Donut is out the door of his shop so quickly he's almost a blur.

"Grif!" He cheers. "Are you here to finally let my cut your hair?" He's grinning and hovering around  Grif so he can get at the werewolf's ponytail. 

Grif swats him away. "No Donut. I'm here to help this idiot get a better pair of shoes." He explains. Pointing to Simmons beat up running shoes.

"Hey!" Simmons protests. "These shoes are co m fortable enough. What's wrong with them?" He asks.

Grif huffs. "We are weeks away from the rainy season and you live in the woods. You aren't going to want to wear those when the ground is 60% mud." He looks back and Donut and finds the man staring at him with wide sparkling eyes. 

"I can get just the thing!" Donut says. "Follow me!" He walks back to his shop door and knocks twice. 

Simmons watches in amazement as the inside of the salon slowly vanished, replaced by rows of clothing and accessories. "That's amazing." He breathes. "How'd you do that?" 

"A simple displacement charm. As easy to make as my nana's pie." Donut winks. He ushers both men to the back of the shop. "You know, if you need it, I also run a furniture store." Donut offers.

"No that’s okay." Simmons says looking over at the wall of shoes Donut stops in front of . "Uh..."

"They're all in your size." Donut grins. "All you have to do is pick a pair."

Simmons stares at him. "That's... kinda creepy." he admits, but Donut isn't listening anymore. 

Instead he's grabbed Grif's arm and begun to pull him towards the counter. "Oh my gosh!" He gushed in a hushed squeal. "You know the mystery man!" 

"What?" Grif huffs.

"I've only gotten to speak to him once! He was passing through town with a moving truck. Tell me everything!" Donut ordered. "Is he an early starter or does he like to sleep in? What does he eat? What type of tea does he like? Does he know about your wolf? Oh! Is he an unusual too?"

"Donut shut up!" Grif snapped. Glancing over at Simmons. Still where they'd left him, looking over all the boots. "I don't fucking know when he likes to wake up. He eat's whatever the fuck he doesn't manage to burn to a crisp. I don't know about his tea. Of fucking course he knows I'm a werewolf. He's a deathling, but other than that, he's human." Grif takes a breath. "Satisfied?"

"Not even a bit. I have so many more questions." Donut says. Looking eager for more about their towns new resident. 

"Too bad. I'm not going to sit here and gossip with you. I have to go by Tuckers after this." Grif know's it's the wrong thing to say as soon as the words leave his mouth. Donut's face lights up. "No. Whatever you think is happening. It's not."

"Grif." Donut's grin stretches impossibly wide. "Are you feeding him?"

"No." Cause that isn't what's happening. Only pack's feed each other. Simmons isn't pack. Simmons is barely his friend. The only pack Grif has is his little sister. "He has no food in his house. I'm helping him shop." 

"That’s so-"

"No." Grif cut's him off firmly. "Donut. No. He's my neighbor, I'm just helping him out." 

Donut's eyes run over Simmons lanky form and smirks. "He's pretty cute."

The wolf growls in irritation. The Fae better not get any ideas.

"Shut up!" Grif snaps at them both. It's bad enough Donut  was assuming things, but now the wolf in his head? Perfect. Donut can do whatever he wants.  Grif isn't Simmons keeper.

Simmons walks up to the counter with a pair of maroon colored boots. "What's wrong?" He asks, noticing Grif's irritation. Handing the shoes over to Donut he dig's out his wallet.

"Nothing." Grif sighs. "Let's go to Tucker's."

"Who's that?" Simmons asks .

"Some asshole. He works at Flowers bakery." Grif answers. Snatching the shoe bag from Donut quickly and ushering Simmons out the door.

"It was nice meeting you Simmons!" Donut calls with a wink. "Maybe we can have tea sometime!"

Simmons gives a little wave as the door closes. Grif flips him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i know the wolf call's Donut a Fae, he's actually a witch. The wolf doesn't care that those aren't the same things. If it smells of magic it's a Fae to the wolf.


	5. Satyr's and Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHA omg, this took a while to update, sorry about that. i wasn't sure how i wanted this chapter to go, it took a bit to figure out. also i've been replaying Fallout 3 and yelling at Dogmeat a lot.  
> this one is a little dialog heavy.

 

"Sup bitchs." The short male Satyr behind the counter of the bakery greeted. Not bothering to look up from the magazine flipped open on the counter.

Simmons pauses. " Hello?"  he greets awkwardly.

The man's head snaps up. Surprise written across his face. "Holy shit." He blurts out. "Who the fuck are you?" He asks. He notices Grif and gapes. "Are you Grif's boyfriend?"

"What?!" Simmons squawks, his face flushing red. "No, I'm Simmons." He introduces nervously. "I just moved to town."

Tucker hums, looking Simmons over. "Pity, you're pretty cute." He mutters, causing Simmons face to flush darker. "Why are you assholes here?"

"Not visiting with you Tucker." Grif rolls his eyes. How many more people in town are going to think Simmons was his boyfriend before he had to get name tags?  "Simmons go pick out some bread." He nudges the man in front of him into moving.

"Don't be an asshole Grif. It's not everyday I get customers. Let alone strangers." Tucker huffs.

The wolf agreed. Having Simmons around was a nice change of pace.

Grif couldn't argue with that. It was nice having a change in his routine. His usual, home- town- home- woods- home, routine now included home- simmons - home-town-home- simmons -woods- simmons -home.

"Only because you scare off anyone that comes in when they pass through town." Grif snorts. "Maybe you'd get more people in here if you held yourself in check and didn't go all  despreate horny teenager on them."

"Hey you know I can't help that. I have a serious condition man." Tucker whines. 

Grif chuckles. "Blue b alls isn't a serious condition Tucker we've talked about this." 

Simmons snickered from where he was looking at somerye bread.

"Fuck you guy's." Tucker huffs. "Why are you here?"

"This guy needed food in his house." Grif explains. "Had to drag the hermit from his house."

Simmons scoffed. "Drag me out of my house? You didn't drag me anywhere. You ordered me around."

"Bow chicka bow wow." Tucker whispered. Grif glared at him. Tucker ignores him. Taking a moment to check Simmons out. He notices something odd in the way the man moves.  "Why do you walk weird?" he asks Simmons as the man wanders around the shop.

Simmons stops moving. Frowning at Tucker. "What?" He asks. Unable to decide if he should be offended or not.

"No offense or anything. You just walk kinda funny." Tucker clarifies. Grif could hit him right now. If only Flowers wouldn't pop up with a chastising smile and a lecture on friendship the moment he did. He did not need to traumatize Simmons today.

Simmons bites his lip. "Prosthetic." He explains quietly before turning back to the bread.

The stink of anxiety is rolling off Simmons in waves. Grif is attempting to send Tucker a look to get him to shut up about it. No such luck. Tucker purses his lips and opens his mouth.

"How'd that happen?" Tucker asks.

Simmons grabs a random loaf of bread, it turns out to be sourdough, and walks to the counter with it. "Um.." He stares blankly at Tucker for a moment before he opens his mouth to answer.

"Tucker stop being rude." Flowers says as he wanders in from the back room. He smiles gently at Simmons. "You must be our new neighbor. I'm Butch Flowers. Owner of the Blood Gulch Bakery."

"Richard Simmons, Sir." He greets. Holding his hand out for Flowers to shake.  "It's nice to meet you."

Flowers grins. "Oh my! Well it seems you have manners." He laughs shaking Simmons hand with his own gloved one. Before planting his hands on his hips. "Sarge was right about you. What a lovely young man."

Grif sees the moment Simmons mood plummets. The smile on his face freezes. Flowers notices too. His own smile dimming a bit. Tucker shares a look with Grif over the counter. Unsure what was going on Grif simply shrugs.

"Oh." Simmons says. His eyes distant, looking into that middle space that says he's thinking about something. "You know Sarge?" The question is stilted and awkward. Like it's simply habit to continue speaking while trapped in his own head. Maybe it is. Grif doesn't know. He can't tell what's happening with his neighbor at this point. Anxiety aside he can't smell anything wrong.

"We went to university together. He's an old friend of mine." Flowers explains. "Told me a young acquaintance of his going by the name Simmons would be moving to town. I've been hoping to get the chance to meet you." He glance's back at Grif uncertain.

Grif shrugs again, cause what the hell? Why would he know what the fuck was happening? 

Simmons blinks suddenly. As if picking up the mood. "Uh, sorry. I'm just surprised. Sarge didn't tell me he had friends in town. He said something about a flowery-" He cut's himself off suddenly. "... oh. " His ears go pink. "On second thought nevermind."

Tucker snickers. 

"He called me a flowery bakery running pansy didn't he?" Flowers chuckles. Glad that Simmons weird mood seemed to have passed. "It's okay. He's called me much worse things before. Still mad about that bet, the poor man."

"What bet?" Grif asks.

"Drinking contest. He had to spend the night tied naked to the flagpole. I still have those pictures if you want to see them." He offers.

"Pass!" The three younger men all but shout.

"Oh that reminds me." Flowers runs a hand through his hair. "Do you know if Church is coming in, or is he still at the farm  with Caboose?"

"The farm." Tucker sighs. "Stupid idiot thought it was a great idea to go without his sunscreen. Keeps texting me from where he's huddled in the barn until Caboose get's done."

Flowers turns to Grif. A hopeful gleam in his eye. "Grif... "

"Aw come on." Grif whines. "Do I have to?"

"I'll toss in a free pastry." Flowers grins. Holding up the bag with Simmons bread in it and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Fuck it. Looks like you get to meet Caboose and Church today Simmons." Grif says snagging the bag as soon as Flowers dropped the pastry in it. "We'll be back soon Butch." 

Simmons hurries after him.    


"Who are Caboose and Church?" Simmons asks as they climb in the jeep.

"Alright, since i forgot to warn you about Tucker and Donut, i'm going to warn you about Church and Caboose." Grif began as he pulled out of town. "Church is a vampire, he's from a very promanint clan. Try not to talk about his family around him, like at all. He doesn't get along with his dad. I don't know what happened between them, but i do know he showed up at Flowers door covered in blood and Caboose trailing after him, so it's just best to let that shit stay where it is."

Simmons nods, filing this information away. "Caboose?"

"So this is kinda complicated. Caboose is a changeling.  Um so when they passed all those law's a few years ago about Fae ownership over changling children, he got released, but the spell placed on him fucked him over. That's about all i know. Church knows a lot more about it than i do but like i said don't ask Church about anything. Anyway Caboose is pretty much a child in an adults body. When Donut tried to fix it he just made shit worse. Let's just say it inhanced things other than his mental capacity. Do not let him hug you if he's excited. Super strength was not the best of things to give a child. Thankfully he somehow managed to befriend Freckles, so he has something he can't hurt with his happiness."

"Freckles...A dog?" Simmons asks.

"Golem. Created from the strongest metals someone could find. Do not piss him off. He's very protective and if you make any sudden moves near Caboose you'll be dodging a metal fist."

"Alright, noted." Simmons swallows nervously. "So is everyone in town an unusual?"

Grif glances over at him and smirks. "We have humans here. Not many though."

"Good." Simmons mutters. Turning to look out the window at the passing countryside, he misses the look of curiosity from Grif. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to lulu on tumblr, thanks for the idea of a half satyr half siren, i'm giving that designation to Junior since he's known to drink blood in canon.


	6. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons and Grif talk about family while on their way to the Farm. Grif is officially Simmons Tour Guide.

 

"So, Flowers is some kind of empath right?" Simmons asks after a while. 

Grif is thankful for the distraction from the empty road.They're about twenty minutes from the farm. Their conversation had died off about fifteen minutes ago. 

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Grif asks.

"The gloves. My mother used to wear them." He says it in that same stilted voice as before. Telling Grif that he's probably thinking about something. Most likely his mother.

Grif spares him a look. He seems calm. Smells calm. He takes it as a n invitation to ask some questions. "Your mom was an unusual?" It's not that surprising. In fact it would explain a lot about Simmons weird  behavior and mannerisms'.

"Yeah. A touch empath. She worked as a counselor for most of her life." Simmons tells him. "She wanted to use her gift to help people."

"What does she do now?" Grif asks.

"She passed away when I was ten." Simmons admits.

Grif can feel the keen sense of sorrow from the passengers seat. He's not sure what to say to something like that. And what he does say makes him want to hit his head on the steering wheel.

"My mom raised us in the circus."

Simmons turns to stare at him. He makes a considering hum and raises an eyebrow. "That explains a lot actually." He says slowly. Grif can hear the smirk he's trying to hide.

"Fuck you." Grif snaps. Simmons chuckles, so does the wolf. He silently tells the wolf to stuff it.

"You said 'us'." Simmons points out after a moment.

"What about it?" Grif asks.

"You have siblings?" He asks curiously.

Grif debates not telling him. It was dangerous nowadays to tell people about pack business, since the  pack was hardly together. It was dangerous to be alone with bigots and Hunters around, and advertising where other wolves were was against pack rules. Then again, Simmons is the least dangerous person he knew, and Grif has never really followed pack rules.

"A little sister. She's off at college right now but she comes and stays with me during her breaks." Grif  explains. "She's an unruly hell spawn. Don't listen to word that comes out of her mouth." He says fondly.

Simmons laughs softly. "I've always wanted siblings. My dad unfortunately didn't want anymore freaks to taint his bloodline." The way he says it makes it sound as if he's quoting something, or someone.

Grif's hands tighten on the wheel. He can feel the wolf shift  around, a flair of protective instinct washing over him . Grif takes a quiet breath and te lls the wolf to calm down. "Kai has nearly given me  gray hairs with all the shit she get's into. Once she fell through the ice while we were on vacation, everyone thought she was dead. Three hours later she shows back up. Turns out she met a very friendly ice wraith. Let's just say we left that night."

Simmons smiles. "You love her though."

Grif grins fondly. "Hell yeah I do. I wouldn't trade her for the world man."

"I have two cousins." Simmons says. "That's the closest I've gotten to having siblings. Haven't seen them in years though. They joined the army I think. South always wanted to join up, North didn’t want her to go without him. He's always acted like the overprotective older brother despite being a twin." Simmons chuckled. "The last time I saw them was at my graduation." 

"You miss them?" Grif asks.

"Yeah. After my mom died I spent a lot of time at my aunts house." Simmons pauses looking out the windshield at something in the distance. "Is that the farm?" He asks. Pointing to a large red spire peeking out from behind the trees. 

The place is large. Big enough to house a giant if one chose to come lurking down from their cloud dimensions. It looked like a barn, if one  enlarged  it to twice it's size.

"Yeah. So calling it the farm is misleading." Grif starts to explain. He  wonders when he turned into Simmons official tour guide. "It's more like a place for Unusuals to train and learn to control their abilities. Caboose helps out here, and he also takes classes from  Sheila  on how to control his strength."

"Who's that?" Simmons asks.

"She's a half Giant. She's actually the one that started the Farm. She wanted to help people like her. The ones that didn't fit in with their own kind. Kind of like Caboose."  Grif says as they pull onto the dirt road leading to large building. "I think she might be the nicest person in Blood Gulch." he laughs as they park.

They climb from the jeep and walk towards the massive doors on the front of the Barn shaped building.  They're halfway across the front lawn when Grif stops dead, body going ridgid. His eyes scan around trying to figure out what's put the wolf on edge. The wolf snarls. An image of a younger wolf drifts into his mind urgently.

"Incoming!" Someone yells nearby.

Grif spins around and sees the blur racing towards them at top speed. Grif is already shifting before the young wolf slams into Simmons at full speed. Knocking the poor man out cold as his head make contact with the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but this felt like the right stopping point for this chapter.  
> You get to meet the lieutenants in the next chapter, as well as Church and Caboose.  
> Also i chose to make Simmons related to the Dakota twins because everytime i try to draw my Simmons Facecanon he always ends up looking a bit like North for some reason.
> 
> the updates are kind of slow, i've been fighting with my depression again lately, it sucks but there's not much i can do.


	7. Welcome to the Farm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons meets a lot of strange people, and learns some interesting information about the Farm. Grif is going to end up strangling someone if they don't stop gossiping about him.

 

 

Grif slammed into the younger wolf, knocking him off of Simmons. The smaller wolf yips, alarmed by Grif's  aggressiveness. The younger wolf whines, suddenly wary of the older wolf. Tail tucking between his legs, ears pinned back in submission he whines.

Grif growled a warning for the younger wolf to back up. The young wolf did so without question. Going a few feet away and exposing his belly to the older wolf. Grif ignored him, turning to check on Simmons and finding the man out cold. He whined lowly and nosed at the man's head.

The other him told the wolf to stay calm. Simmons would be fine. He just hit his head.

"Grif? Bitters?" Sheila called out as she jogged over to them. "What happened?" She slowed her pace, waiting for Grif  to give her a sign that it was okay for her to come close. 

Grif took a step away from Simmons, indicating that she could move closer, and glanced back at the other wolf. Still where he'd been left. Afraid to move until Grif gave the okay. Grif huffed. Walking over to the young wolf, bumping his snout against the others, telling him to get up and follow him. A sign that he was forgiven. The wolf was young still. Barely in it's eighth year. It was normal for him to make mistakes. Especially for a Turned One. It was always harder for the forcibly turned to control themselves.

Sheila had picked up Simmons and was heading inside the building. Grif and Bitters padded along behind her.

* * *

 

Simmons felt an ache in the back of his head as he woke slowly from his dreamless slumber. He's not sure what's woken him until he hears voices somewhere to his right.

"Bitter's I should kick your ass!" Grif's voice echoes in his ears.

"Come on! Wasn't making me piss myself enough for you?" So meone whines. Simmons takes a guess that it's whoever Bitters  is. "I thought it was just you when I changed, I didn't realize you were bringing a human with you. The wolf  got a little excited."

"A little excited?! You knocked him out and almost cracked his ribs!" Grif exclaims.

"He'll get over it." Bitters replied.

"You don't even know him!" Grif rebukes.

"If he's friends with you-"

"Bitters you fuck-" 

"Shut up!" Simmons groans. His eyes crack open, he's thankful that the room he's in seems to have dimmed lights. He glances around the small dimly lit room and frowns. He doesn't know where he is. Somewhere in the Farm he guesses since it didn't look like a hospital. That's for the best really. Simmons and hospitals didn't mix well. He shifts to sit up and groans again. "Shit. Why does it feel like I got hit by a bus?" He questions the ache in his body.

"Fluffy over here wanted to play." Grif answers. Simmons looks over at him and finds him oddly dressed in different clothes than what he'd been in previously. His eyes follow Grifs pointed look at the younger man next to him. Barely a kid.

The young man, Bitters, grimaces when Simmons eyes land on him. "Sup." He says casually.

"Uh, Sup." Simmons says back awkwardly.

"Sorry about your head or whatever." The boy mutters.

"It's fine." Simmons says.

"Bitters go help Jensen and Smith with the Cyclops, then take the Centaur out to play." Grif huffs, rolling his eyes as he gestures Bitters to leave. "How you feeling?" He asks Simmons once the young wolf is gone.

"Like I got trampled." Simmons complains, rubbing at his chest. "How long have I been out?" He asks.

"Like an hour at least." Grif answers.

"What's with the clothes?" Simmons had figured he'd been out longer.

"Oh this? The wolf got a little startled earlier." He answers with a shrug. Before he can say more someone peeks their head in the door. 

"Is he awake?" The newcomer asks. 

"Yeah." Grif nods. "You can bring him in now Church."

"Thank fuck. Caboose looked ready to bust down the door when Bitters left." Church ducked back out and Simmons could hear him talking to someone in the hall. A few seconds later the door was nearly busted off its hinges by a large man with a wild grin on his face.

"Hello!" He greeted, bouncing on his heels."I'm Caboose! And this," he gestured to Church. "Is my bestest friend Church!"

Simmons smiles softly. Remembering what Grif said about Caboose having the mind of a child. "Uh, it's nice to meet you Caboose." He says slowly. "I'm Simmons."

"Is it true you can see me through the walls?" He asks.

"What?" Simmons asks looking over at Grif for clarification.

"No you dumbass." Church sighs. "Grif said he can sense you."

Oh. "Actually... I can see you through the walls. In a way." Simmons pipes up. "It doesn't always work but it's possible. It's not just Unusuals either, I can sense humans, but they're easier to see if they have otherworldly factors." He explains.

"Really?" Church asks. Looking at Simmons oddly. He glances up for confirmation from Grif but the man just shrugs , that's the first he's learning about it too. "Right, well anyway. You're that new guy. The one that moved into Vanessa's old place?" He asks.

"I guess? Who's Vanessa?" Simmons asks.

"She works here. Moved in here about five years ago." Grif explained. "She's an elfin."

That piqued Simmons curiosity. It was rare that Elves left their realms to come to the human world. He figured that line of questioning could wait till later. For now he moved to get out of the bad.

He stood and wavered in place. Grif's sudden hand on his back steadied him. "Shit." He hissed.

"Bitters really did a number on you." Church chuckled. "Grif here had the poor kid pissing himself with his show of dominance."

Grif flushed slightly. "He should have better self restraint by now." He grumbled.

Church snickered. Turning when footsteps stopped outside the room.

"Um, is he awake?" A female voice asked.

"Sheila!" Caboose cheered skipping from the room and coming back in pulling a large woman in behind him. "Simmons this is Sheila, she's a really nice lady."

"Nice to meet you ma'am." Simmons greeted, holding a hand out for her to shake. He winced slightly in her strong grip. 

"It's lovely to meet you too. I wasn't aware Grif had a mate." He smiled delightedly.

Simmons choked on air, stammering. "M-mate? I'm- we aren't- why does everyone think we're together?" He asked looking back at Grif. The mans face was flushed from embarrassment.

"We aren't together." Grif  managed to say. 

Sheila looked startled. "Oh! I'm sorry. Church told me-"

"Okay wait!" Church interjects. "That's just what Tucker told me."

"Since when do you listen to Tucker?!" Grif demands.

"Since you show up in town with some dude no ones seen before!" Church yelled back defensively. "Sorry I assumed you'd finally gotten laid!"

"Oh that's rich coming from you!" Grif snorted. "When's the last time you-"

Simmons didn't think his face could go a darker shade of red. He tuned out the two men and began to walk away through the door into the hall. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Sheila smiled at him.

"Would you like to take a walk?" She asks.

"I would love that." He sighed. He could still hear Grif and Church arguing down the hall.

Sheila led him down a hall filled with more rooms like the one he'd woken up in. "This is the resting hall." She explained. "A lot of our students go through transitions that can leave them exhausted. So we set aside a hall of rooms where they could rest without being disturbed." 

She opened a door leading to a large courtyard. "A lot of us can't stand being indoors for too long, so I designed this place to have as many outdoor areas as possible."

"How many people live here?" Simmons asked looking around at all the people he could see bustling around. The place seemed almost crowded.

"Um, at last count there was over a hundred people on the registry. A lot of them are below though. We house quite a few dangerous creatures in our vault." Sheila answered.

"Vault?" He asks.

"It's much nicer than it sounds really. Its just called the Vault because Doyle thought it sounded cool. Although Vanessa detests the name we haven't really gotten around to changing it." Sheila laughs quietly.

"So you opened this place as a safe haven?"

"Yes, we get a lot of young people. Like Bitters and his pack mates." She says glancing out one of the windows where a large centaur was playing with a small pack of wolves. "The poor boy was lost and frightened when we found them. They all were. People do such horrible things for the sake of science."

Simmons swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. Rubbing at his left arm and chewing on his lip. He knew first hand what some people would do. "When Grif first told me about this place, I didn't realize it would be so big." He admitted.

"When I first started it was just me, Tucker, Church and Caboose out here. Working at controlling ourselves on a small farm in the middle of nowhere." Sheila smiled fondly. "A few people in town heard about us and came to see if they could stay with us. A lot of us just needed somewhere safe to go. Who was I to turn away someone in need."

"Are there any empaths here?" Simmons asks curiously.

Sheila looks startled. "Well..." She pauses nervously. "There is one. But he's not allowed out of the vault."

"Why?" Simmons questioned.

"A few years ago, Butch came here in the dead of night dragging the man behind him. He explained that the other empath had been violating people minds." She explained sourly. "Well there was only one thing we could do really. So we locked him away."

"Oh." Simmons said quietly. "So the vault is like a prison?"

"In a way yes." Sheila agreed sadly. "I wish I didn't have need for such a place, but some unusual just cant be trusted."

"Are you telling him ghost stories?" Grif asked as he walked up behind them.

"I was explaining what the Vault was." Sheila answers.

Grifs expression sours. "Why? There's no need for him to go near that place." He looks upset by the topic.

"Well if he's going to be living here, he might as well know some of the dangers." Sheila says patently.

"There's no danger if nothings getting out again." Grif presses.

"Grif, you can't be mad forever." Sheila sighs.

"The hell I can't-"

"I asked." Simmons interjected quickly, feeling like if he didn't stop this now it would blow up into a fight. Grif  looked over at him. Simmons shrugged. "I asked her what it was."

"Like I said, there's no reason to go near there. It's full of monsters." Grif glowered at the floor.

"Grif!" Sheila admonished. "You know a lot of them can't help what they are."

Grif snorted. "Yeah well a lot of them don't even try."

Simmons stood looking between the two nervously. He didn't understand what was happening. All he'd wanted to know is if there could have been someone here with abilities like his own. Maybe someone who could help him understand the meaning of the things he sees. Now he's watching the anger flair up around his only friend. He's not sure how to go about this situation without making it worse.

Thankfully he doesn't have to. One second he's standing nervously between two glaring Unusuals. The next he's being lifted from the ground and carried down the hall.

"Uh?!" He looks back over his shoulder at the owner of the arms wrapped around him. Caboose grins at him.

"Let's go see Freckles." The man suggests. Well it would have been a suggestion if Simmons had any choice in the matter.  "He is very nice, and big. He's my favorite pet."

"I can walk." Simmons points out.

"This is more fun." Caboose reassures. "Church asks for piggyback rides all the time."

Simmons laughs, not surprised by that even if he had just met the man. Glancing back at Grif and Sheila he found that the two were arguing quietly. He couldn't help feel a bit guilty about bringing up an obviously sensitive subject.

They pass through a large archway into an open field. Simmons has no trouble spotting Freckles. His jaw drops as a ten foot metal gargoyle lifted itself off the ground from where it had been resting in the shade. It yawned and walked closer to a them.

"Master." The creature spoke. "Who is this?" It asked. Indicating Simmons with a tilt of his head.

"This is Simmons. He's my new friend!" Caboose explained.

Freckles nodded slightly, as if approving this choice. "Greetings Simmons."

It took a moment for Simmons to respond. Mind still reeling over the fact that the Golem could speak. The amount of magic needed for that kind of enchantment was astronomical.

"Hi." He breathed. "May I?" He asked, hesitantly reached a hand out to touch the Golem. Pausing briefly to make sure he wasn't about to have his hand bitten off. The creatures body was surprisingly warm to the touch, and he could feel and see it breathing. Whoever made the beast had poured every last ounce of magic in their veins to bring it to life. "This is... You're amazing."

"Thank you human." Freckles rumbled. "Your arm is not so badly made either." 

Simmons startled. Unsure of how Freckles would even notice his prosthetics. "Thank you." He replied quietly.

"Wait?" Caboose started. Setting Simmons gently on his feet. "What's your arm made from?" He asked, looking Simmons arms over confused.

"Metal." Simmons admitted.

"Are you a Golem too?" He asked. Frowning at the thought. "You are a very human like Golem."

"No. I'm human. I have a replacement arm because i lost my real one." Simmons explains. "But the enchantments are nothing close to what's running through Freckles." He says looking over the creature again. He was still thrown off by the fact that everything he was looking at told him the Golem was alive. Usually with Golems he didn't see them like he would a living flesh made being. The forest green shimmer around the creature was jarring. Not even Lopez had a shimmer.

Simmons looked back at Caboose and at the dark blue shimmer that was tinged with a bright yellow like a halo around his head. Simmons felt a headache coming on.

* * *

Grif glared at Cabooses retreating back. He knows what's going on. Take the human out of the potentially dangerous situation. It wasn't like Grif was about to lose control though. He had more strength that that. He hasn't shifted during an argument since he was twenty one and his sister wanted to mate with some asshole alpha male in their mothers circus.

"All I'm saying is that he doesn't need to go anywhere near that place. Especially not with that creepy empath down there. The last thing he needs to welcome him to town is some asshole in his head." Grif said. Looking back at Sheila.

The woman smiled softly. "He doesn't even know where the entrance is." She reassured him.

"Good. Keep it that way." Grif sniffed. Crossing his arms and looking out the window where he could see Caboose carrying Simmons over to Freckles. He tenses a bit when Simmons stupidly reaches out to touch the creature, but Freckles seems to allow the gesture.

"Why him?" Sheila asks.

Grif frowns in confusion. "What?"

"You've chased the last three people out of that cottage within a week of them moving in." Sheila says. "Yet Simmons has been here for a month or so already according to Donut. What makes him different?"

"Jesus, do you people just sit and gossip about me while I'm not around?" Grif huffs. He looks over at the Giantess and finds her smiling at him knowingly. "He's too stubborn to leave, that's all. He didn't even realize I could change back when I first met him. He thought I was a permanent change that had nowhere better to spend my time."

"You like him." She says softly.

"He's an idiot." Grif scowls.

"Grif!" A voice calls out to them. Jensen is running down the hall towards them. Palomo on her heels. Both just changed back from their wolves. 

"Is it true?" Palomo asks excitedly. 

"Is what true?" Grif asks.

"Is it true that you got a mate?" Jensen asks, spitting a little in her excitement.

"No!" Grif shouts. "He's not my mate! Who keeps telling you people this shit?!"

"Bitters said that you-"

Grif cut Palomo off. "I'm going to kick his ass!" He growled. Storming off down the hall.

The other three watched him go. Behind them Church snickered.

"So..." He drawled. "Who wants to place bets on when Grif finally admits he's making heart eyes at the new guy?" He asked.

"I'm in." Jensen smiles.

"Me to." Sheila laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> medical complications can eat a butt. So due to my meds not working like they should, i'll probably update about once a month while i argue about brain surgery alternatives. Anyone know what a gamma knife is? yeah, brain surgery is scary as dicks birdies.


	8. Professor Simmons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons not really good with kids, trust him. Thankfully these kids enjoy his random knowledge.

 

Grif finds Simmons a while later, still outside, sitting in the middle of a circle of young children. He was holding up leaf and talking animatedly about something. Grif walked up silently. Putting a finger to his lips so the kids didn't give him away to Simmons. He was interested in hearing what Simmons seemed so excited about.

"There are over 23,000 different kinds of trees in the world, and there are many different kinds of druids and plant based unusuals." Simmons was explaining. "So one Druid would never have to share a specialty with another Druid, not even if they're blood related."

"Mr. Simmons?" One of the twins raised his hand. "My friends grandma is like, really super old, she said it's cause her tree is 'old as sin'. What's that mean?"

"You can just call me Simmons, Eta. So a druids life span is somewhat connected to their home tree. Depending on how old the tree is, is how old some Druids can live. Trees are some of the oldest living organism on earth. Live oaks can live to be over 500 years, many giant sequoia trees are 2,500 years old, some bristlecone pines are thought to be over 5000 years old." Simmons laughs when some of the kids gasp.

"I wanna be a druid!" A young boy Grif remembers as being introduced as Theta whispers excitedly.

"You can't be a Druid stupid. You're already a telepath!" Another little boy scoffs.

"I'm a teleconotic." Theta replies.

"It's Telekinetic." A third boy corrects. Theta merely shrugs. 

"It's not like it matters." The second boy pipes up again. "He can't even use his powers right."

"Hey!" The second twin pipes up, placing a hand on her hips. "Stop being mean Omega!"

"You're a Telekinetic? Th-that's pretty cool." Simmons says, gently trying to defuse the argument. "Did you know that sometimes Telekinetics can create force fields around themselves. I know someone who can do that. "

"Really?" Theta asks wide eyed. 

"Yeah, it takes a lot of practice though. Good thing you're young, you have all the time in the world to learn how to use your powers." Simmons tells him. "Don't feel bad because you can't control something that's hard to understand in the first place. It's like my sight. I can see things no one else can, but it's really hard to understand. Even I don't know what half the stuff I see means and I'm already twenty five."

Grif glanced at his watch. He still had time to get Simmons back to town to the grocery if they left soon, but that meant disrupting the apparent school lesson. He wonders where all the kids came from. What happened to Caboose and Freckles?

"Are you ready to leave?" Simmons asks. Turning his head to look back at Grif.

Grif startles a bit. "How'd you know I was here?" he asks.

"If I can see you trying to hide under the poison ivy bush near my house I think I can see you standing behind me Grif." Simmons snorts. Turning when the male twin stands up and tugs on Simmons sleeve. "What's wrong Eta?"

"You're leaving?" He asks. He looks upset, as do the other kids. 

"Yeah, but uh, I can come back another time if you want."  Simmons offers in the face of the boy's upset look.

"I wanna know more tree facts!" The female twin exclaims.

"Don't worry Iota, I have plenty more tree facts." Simmons reassures her, climbing to his feet. 

"Bye Simmons!" Theta waves.

Before Grif can get far he hears one of the kids behind him whisper.

"I like Mr. Grif's friend, Delta. What about you?" Iota asks.

"I like his tree facts." Delta replies. "He's got a lot of them." the boy adds oddly.

Grif can't help but sneak glances at Simmons as they walk back to the jeep.

"What?" Simmons asks after catching him.

"I didn't know you were good with kids. It's unexpected." Grif admits as they climb into the vehicle.

"Oh god, I'm not usually that good, and what you didn't see was me staring awkwardly at them all for the first half of that." Simmons laughs. "I have no idea how to talk to kids. I just started spouting facts about the tree behind us and they seemed to enjoy it."

"How'd you end up with them?" 

"I'm not sure. They were trying to catch butterflies, then Caboose wanted to join but he ran off into the trees so Freckles went after him. The kids just kinda came over to see who I was and then they wouldn't leave."

Grif laughs. "Are you a kid magnet?"

"God I hope not. I'm so bad with children." Simmons groaned. "Did you take care of what ever Butch sent us here to do?" he asks.

"Yeah, I usually carry a spare thing of Church's sunscreen in my trunk."

Simmons nodded and turned to look out the window as they drove back to town. Grif watched him for a moment. He seemed  happy. Smiling to himself as he stared out the window. 

"So what did you think of them?" Grif asks.

"The others?" Simmons questions. Grif nods. "They're interesting. Caboose is nice. I enjoyed meeting F reckles. Sheila seemed worried showing me around though." Simmons had picked up on the faint blue around her as they'd walked through the facility.

"She's always worried showing people around." Grif states. "Like she's afraid they won't approve of the place."

"How could they not." Simmons says excitedly. "That's the first place I've ever seen that's a home for unusuals. It's amazing that she's managed to run it without too much problems."

"Well that's not quite true. There are plenty of problems." Grif snorts.

Simmons bites his lip. Thinking over what he was about to say. "You mean like whatever happened with the Vault?"

Grif's hands tightened on the wheel. "Yeah, like that. Did she tell you what happened?"

"No. She barely even spoke of Vault. She only said anything cause I asked if there were any empaths, She said there was one in the Vault." Simmons explains.

"Price." Grif states.

"What?"

"That's the empath. His name's Price. Advice, do not even think about him."  Grif can't even imagine Price getting out of his numbing chamber. What a clusterfuck that would be. It had taken two telepaths and an empath to take him down last time. After Church and Grif had torn into him. Him getting out now, with so many new young unusuals, it would end badly. Grif shakes off the thought.

"Sheila said he was violating people's minds. I don't really understand what that means." Simmons admitted.  He remembers days when his mother would come home. Headache pounding in her head from the day she'd spent having to use her power to sooth angry, dangerous people. He wonders if that's what Grif means. He isn't sure how someone would use that to make people do what you wanted. 

"I'm not sure either. Flowers didn't really want to talk about it. I think it's cause his boyfriend was one of Price's victims." Grif lies. It's better not to freak Simmons out by telling him about the terror of having someone crawl through your emotions as you watched yourself do horrible things.

"Oh." Simmons frowned, staring at the air in front of Grif. "Where are we going now?" He asked.

"Doc's" Grif was thankful for the change of topic." He runs a little shop Donut helped set up when he stumbled into town. We're gonna pick up a few things before we head back to your place."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little short, but i wasn't sure where to go from here. So the next chapter will be skipping the meeting with doc, don't worry though, you guy's will get to meet him later.  
> Good news, no surgery! I managed to find a medication that should help me, unfortunitly it makes me a little jumbled so um if you see some spelling errors or grammar errors, please let me know.


	9. Waxing Gibbons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thing's begin to change.  
> A second arc begins.

Screaming. Echoing through the air and reverberating through the youngwolfs skull painfully. The cries of a thousand small voices yelling for his help.

The wolf pressed on. Determined to find the cause of the distress. Pixies flitted in and out of hiding as he passed them by. Showing him, leading him, to the cause of their anguish. 

An almighty roar echoed in the distance. The wolfs heart seized. Trying to identify the sound as another wolf from its pack came up with nothing. The sound was reminiscent of a bears.

The Pixies picked up their frantic cries to get the wolf back on track. Leading him towards the noise. The wolf pressed on. Coming to a clearing where the Pixies scattered and hid themselves away. 

The wolf quickly spotted the problem. A Pixie sat against a tree on the edge of the clearing. Clearly injured. Something about the full sized Pixie nagged at the wolf.

The young wolfs human half began tugging at memories. Familiar. It said. Matthews! It cried. 

Pack. The wolf agreed. Padding quietly over to the slumped form. It nosed at the Pixies hair.

The Pixie moaned. Eyes cracking open they turned their gaze to the wolf. Showing no signs of fear. Recognition sparked in the Faes' large eyes.

"Bitters?" The young Pixie breathed.

The wolf whined.

"You gotta- gotta get out of here!" The Pixie whispered urgently. "It might come back!"

The wolf whined again and moved its head to indicate the Pixie should follow it back to the Farm.Three years on not knowing Matthews fate after the escape from the labs, there was no way the wolf was willing to leave Matthews here with the thing that had hurt them. 

"I can't fly. I can't shrink down either." Matthews stated. "It tore my wing."

The wolf lowered itself to its belly. Waiting for the Fae to climb on. Catching the hint Matthews quickly climbed on the wolfs back. 

Behind them something crashed through the trees. Glancing back the wolf barely caught a glimpse of it. It was large. Huge. Bigger than anything the wolf wanted to go up against.

The wolf was off like a shot. The creature chasing after it at once. The young wolf sprinted through the forest as fast as its legs could carry it. Weaving in and out of trees in an attempt to lose its pursuer. Leaping fallen trees and small creeks in its path to slow the creature.

The large Fae roared in anger behind them as it yet again had to clamber over a fallen tree. 

The smaller Fae clung tightly to the wolfs back. Whimpering into its fur every time the wolf took a sudden jarring turn.

The wolf was getting closer and closer to its goal. Alphas territory. The scent getting stronger with every passed tree. If it made it there, there was a chance the angered Fea behind it would stop its pursuit.

The wolf broke through a tree line into the small clearing that signaled the beginning of the Alphas' territory. The wolf didn't slow down. Sprinting full force through the clearing, it caught a second scent. The image of a tall man standing next to its Alpha popped to mind. Its Alphas' mate. Safety. The wolf headed for the scent. It was closer than its Alphas'. 

The wolf soon spotted a small home standing alone among the trees. The scent of Alpha mate and Alpha mingled in the air. The wolf skid to a stop in the mud outside. Panting hard it stumbled up the porch, pawing at the door until it realized the  owner  wasn't home.

The wolf whined. Tilting its shoulder to signal its passenger to climb off. The Pixie slid to the wood and curled up slightly against the cold air.

Bones snapped and reshaped as Bitters took control. He was left panting doubled over on himself in the freezing mid-November air. Climbing to stand on shaking legs he tried the door handle and found it unlocked. Thanking Simmons poor  safety  habits Bitters helped Matthews to their feet. Leading the small, slim Pixie through the house into the living room where he started up a fire in the fireplace. Unsure what to do about their nakedness , knowing Simmons aversion to  awkward  situations,  Bitters grabbed two of the coats he'd spotted on the way in and gently wrapped  one  around  his friends shoulders and one around his own. It didn't help much to cover himself, being almost as tall as Simmons, but it draped like a dress on Matthews. 

"Where are we?" Matthews asked quietly. 

"Simmons house. It's Grif's mate, well Grif doesn't like to admit it, but it's really obvious what his wolf thinks on the matter." Bitters rambled through his violent shivering. Coming to sit down behind Matthews. He wrapped his arms around the Pixie and brought them in closer, mindful of the torn wing, to share a little warmth.

"I don't know who those people are." Matthews stated.

"You'll meet them later." Bitters muttered though chittering teeth. "But we're safe. This is a safe place." Bitters assured his friend.

Matthews didn't respond. Leaning back in Bitters arms and letting their eyes slip closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Drama!  
> Matthews is nonbinary. Or at least i'm trying to write them that way. If i fuck up pronoun usage, please correct me.
> 
> Also sorry for any weird spacing. It's just something that happens when i post, i can't figure out why it's doing that but i try to fix it as much as i can.


	10. Of Hunters and Bears, oh my...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad news, worse news.  
> Grif has a bad feeling that Tucker might be right. A storm is coming. He has an even worse feeling that he's going to have to actually do something about it.

 

Grif wakes up to his phone blaring Tuckers ringtone in his ear. Grumbling he fumbles with the phone, attempting to shut the noise up before Simmons complained about it.

"Grif there's  a hunter in town." Tucker hisses into his ear without waiting for a hello.

"What?" Grif sits up off his couch. Phone pressed against his ear as he listens to his friend panic over the phone.

"I was opening the shop and this guy  was walking around. He has a fucking gun on his back!" Tucker explained. "I think he's looking for someone."

"Why do you think that?" Grif asks. Dread settling in his chest.

"He keeps looking at a piece of paper in his hands- oh. Oh no! He's coming in here what should I do?" Tucker asks. His voice dipping low as the bell jingles in the background.   


"Is Flowers there?"

"Somewhere." Tucker says normally. Not wanting to give the Hunter any misunderstandings.

"Then you're fine Tucker. You know Butch would have that guy skinned alive before he let him lay a hand on one of his employees."

"Right. You're right. I have to go now. I have a customer." Tucker says stiffly. Hanging up.

Grif sighs. "Shit." He was going to have to go into town today. The wolf wanted to know what this new threat looked like. When the wolf got like this there was no ignoring it. Pulling pant's on and shooting a look at Simmons, who was currently dozing off on a pile of papers next to his couch.

"Simmons." Grif nudges the man with his foot to wake him.

Simmons blinked awake. Looking up at him bleary eyed. "Wha?" He slurred.

"I have to go to town. Wanna come?" He asked pulling on his boots. It had been raining earlier and now the ground was nothing but mud. He worried slightly about the jeep getting stuck, but waved it off. It wouldn't be the first time it happened. 

Simmons yawned and stretched. "No. I'm gonna head home." He says, climbing to his feet. He gathers up the few papers he'd been scribbling on before he fell asleep. Grif wasn't sure what he was working on. Something about  Fae , or Fairies, Grif didn't care enough to ask. 

"You want a ride back to your place?" 

Simmons shook his head. Leaving the papers in a neat pile where he knew Grif wouldn't bother to touch them. "No. You'd just have to turn right back around to get to town." He gathered up his coat and shoes.

"I'll stop by your house when I'm done." Grif promises before leaving his house for Simmons to lock up. He climbs in the jeep and pulls out on to the muddy road.

He feels jittery at the thought of a hunter finding their little town. It was almost impossible if you weren't looking for it specifically. Being located in the middle of a magic rift had it's perks.  Humans had a hard time finding places like this. With no connection to magic the town passed right by without notice. Grif had been surprised that Simmons had been able to find the town without too much issue. 

Not only that but you also got heightened senses. Heightened abilities. A quiet thrum in your veins from the direct contact with the magic in the earth. Someone with a low level of magic might not notice it right away. Grif knows that Simmons hasn't yet. He hasn't asked about it  at least. Knowing Simmons  though, the moment he takes notice it'll be Grif that has to listen to his never ending questions.

The thought unconsciously makes him smile before he catches himself. He's been doing that a lot lately. When thinking about Simmons he often found himself wearing a small smile. He wouldn't have even noticed if Church hadn't pointed it out. Grif couldn't even deny it. Not after he caught himself doing it again and again. It irritated him to no end. He couldn't even blame it on the wolf.

So he smiled when he thought of Simmons. That didn't mean anything. It just meant that he... Enjoyed the mans company... Or something. Grif was usually better at denial and lying to himself than this. He blamed Simmons bad influence. The nerd couldn't lie if he had a gun to his head. 

The wolf laughed at him.

Grif abruptly realized that he was smiling again. "Shut up." He huffed at the wolf. Setting his expression into a scowl he turned his thoughts back around to the hunter.

It was worrying that the hunter was in town. And if Grif had any say in the matter he'd let the wolf loose to chase him off. Unfortunately he didn't have any say in the matter. Doyle did, and as mayor of their little town he'd set some ground rules. So no. Grif couldn't just chase the man away. Not without breaking rule number three) Do not cause unnecessary exposure to the town. And if Grif chased the hunter away, the hunter could bring back friends. Grif didn't have the energy to chase away so many people. If he did he still wouldn't want to. Too much effort, it was easier not to bring attention to the town. Even if the wolf itched to chase the man out.

Grif pulled the jeep into a parking spot outside the bakery. Through the window he saw Tucker chatting with a man wearing a large rifle on his back. 

The wolfs hackles were raised at the sight.

Who in their right mind wandered around a town full of Unusuals visibly armed?

The bell above the door chimed as he entered the shop. The man at the counter turned towards him curiously. Grif could smell the unease rolling off the man.

Nervous? 

Good. The wolf huffed.

"Hey Grif." Tucker called. The look in his eyes speaking volumes to how relieved he was that he wasn't alone with the hunter anymore. Satyrs were never ones for violence.    


"Sup." Grif nodded casually. Then glanced pointedly at the stranger that had taken to watching his movements with a cautious eye.

As he should. The wolf thought smugly.

"This is Wash." Tucker introduced. "He's here looking for someone." He prompted the man.

Wash shook himself into action. "Oh, right." Pulling a battered looking photo from his pocket he held it out for Grif to get a look at. "Have you seen this man?"

In the photo a large bald man stood facing the camera. He didn't smile, nor was he frowning, simply staringboredly at the camera. The right half of his face appeared to be horribly scarred. What caught Grifs attention were the mans eyes. They glowed softly. 

The signs of a Shifter. A Fae that was cursed by the Great Mother with the ability to change forms. Unfortunately you never knew what that form would be. Or if it was permanent. If you were lucky, you were able to change into many different creatures. If you were not, you couldn't change back.

"Naw, never seen him." Grif shrugged.

Wash looked disappointed. "Oh..." He bit his lip before seeming to come to a conclusion. "Have you seen any strange wildlife around?" He asked.

Grif snorted. "Besides me?" He asked flashing his canines with a wide smirk. A clear threat. The wolf approved.   


Wash hesitated before clearing his throat. "I meant like, a large white bear. Specifically a large white polar bear."

Grif frowned. Glancing down at the photo. "Your shifter buddy a permanent?" He asks.

Wash shakes his head. "No, confused."

Grif rolls his eyes. "Right, well I haven't seen him but I'll be sure to ask Simmons if he's seen a polar bear running around." He answers sarcastically.

Tucker snickers. Covering it up with a cough when Wash glares at him.

Wash pauses. Looking back at Grif questioningly. "Wait. Did you say Simmons?" He asks.

Both Tucker and Grif freeze, staring at Wash in confusion.

"Yeah, what about it?" Grif asks. A bit too aggressively, too defensively. The wolf growls low in Grif's head at the stranger.

Wash thinks for a moment, staring off into space before shaking his head. "No nothing. It's probably just a coincidence." He says. Stuffing the picture back in his pocket. "Thanks anyway." He turns to leave the shop.

"Welp, that was weirdly intense." Tucker says as soon as the door slips shut behind the hunter.

"He's carrying a trank gun around." Grif observes. "So, not a normal hunter."

"Who cares." Tucker snorts. "A hunter is a hunter. And did you see the way he got all weird when you mentioned Simmons. Like he knew him."

"Or knew of him."  Grif nods.

"Why would a hunter know who Simmons was?" Tucker asks. "I mean, we don't really know where Simmons comes from..." He trails off.

"What are you saying?" Grif asks, annoyed by where he knew Tucker was taking this.

"All I'm saying is, it's weird. Alright. Some random hunter shows up looking for a polar bear, and he just so happens to know who Simmons is?"

Grif sighs, running a hand down his face. "Tucker. It's really fucking hard to pull off the level of awkward human being that Simmons manages. Really hard to pull of how non threatening he makes himself, he got scared by a rabbit the other day I might point out. So the day he suddenly pulls out his arsenal of badassery, I'll let Donut cut my hair." Grif laughs. Turning to look back at Tucker he sees the man gaping at him. "What?"

Tucker shakes his head. "Nothing." He says quietly.

Grif frowns. "Spit it out." He orders. 

Tucker laughs. "Man, you don't even realize it do you?" He asks.

"Realize what?!" Grif demands.

"You'll figure it out someday buddy." Tucker chuckles, clapping a hand on Grif shoulder. "By the way, I'm holding you to that. Maybe Simmons has some secret ninja training we don't know about."

Grif snorts. "That'll be the day." 

Tucker glances out the window and frowns. "Seriously though. I don't like having this guy in town. My shit storm radar just went off the charts."

Grif nods. Pulling out his phone when he feels it vibrate in his pocket. 

"Aw shit!" He hisses.

"You okay?" Tucker asks when he notices the dread on the other mans face.

"I think Bitters might have found Wash's polar bear." Grif says stuffing his phone back in his pocket. He hurries to the door before pausing. "Don't tell that guy."

Tucker frowns, but nods. "What happened?" He asks.

Grif shrugs. "Don't know. Simmons just texted me that Bitters and a friend are at his house, they were attacked." He explains quickly before ducking out of the door.

* * *

 

As Wash left the small bakery, walking back toward the motel he'd made reservations at the night before, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Dialing one of the few numbers on the device he held it to his ear.

"What that fuck do you want?" The person on the other end demanded.

"South? Where's North?" Wash asked.

"Busy.What do you want kid?" The woman demanded again.

"I think I found him." Wash answered.

"You found Maine?" She questioned.

"No, well I'm close, but not him." Wash hurried on. "I think I found your cousin actually."

There was silence from the other end.

"You think you found Richard?" North's voice picks up in the background.

"He's dead." South says coldly. North wrestles the phone from her before she can hang up.

"We'll be back in the states in a few weeks." He says breathlessly. "Wash, please, if it is him... Don't leave town until we get there." 

 South begins swearing in the background. "For fuck sakes! He's fucking gone North! We went to his funeral!"

"They never found his body!" North argued.

"Cause it burned up in the fire!" She yelled.

"I... I'll try to stay in town. But I really need to get to Maine before he hurts someone." Wash says with a grimace. Not wanting to listen to the twins argue.

"I understand." North says before having the phone taking from him. South promptly hanging up after that.

Wash sighs, running a hand down his face.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bum BUm Buuuummm!  
> lol oh the things i have planned for this mess.


	11. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons reflects on how things have been going in his life, and finds something worrying.  
> He really wishes the headache building up in his head would go away.

 

It's been four months since Simmons moved to town. So far he's been back to the farm once every week to spend time with everyone. He likes spending time there. Learning things about Unusuals he'd never known before. It's something to do during the day while he works on what to do with his life. Simmons had dreams once. A plan. 

All of it went down the drain the day he died for the second time. He remembers falling into darkness as heat licked his flesh. Remembers a voice in that darkness. A burning in his chest that flushed through his veins. Remembers waking up to Sarge's attempts to calm him down as he lay on a table in the  basement of his mentors home. Simmons couldn't stay around. Not when half the town knew he'd died. There was something wrong with him. Coming back to life the first time had marked him as strange, but the cause of that miracle was passed off on his mother. Her grief imploring Death to have pity. Sh e paid the price for that bargain. Her sudden death months later a mystery to no one.

To come back a second time branded him as too diffrent. He couldn't stay there. So Sarge helped cover up the lack of a dead body and told him of a place he could go. A small town tucked away in a rift of magic. A place Simmons wouldn't stick out. He'd been half right. Simmons stood out here for the opposite reason. A human in a town of Unusuals. Yet no one here judged him for something he couldn't change, they treated him with the same level of assholishness they would anyone else.

 Though he was still nervous around the others and he tended to stray into awkward territory far too often for his liking. Simmons was glad he made the move out here. Somewhere not even his father could find. In fact if it hadn't been for Sarge's instructions Simmons probably wouldn't have found the town at all.

The people were friendly for the most part. They left him alone when he wanted peace and quiet. So far only Tucker and Donut had visited his small cottage. Simmons was fine with that. Other than Grif he didn't really want visitors. He wasn't even bothered by stray animals except for the occasional squirrel. He figured that was because Grif pissed on every tree from the cottage back to his cabin. 

Tonight Simmons was hurrying along the muddy path. He was thankful Grif had made him get those boots as his foot sunk into the ground, nearly tipping him face first into the mud. 

"Shit." He muttered, pulling his coat tighter around himself. Wishing that Grif hadn't gotten a call urging him to town. Grif had asked if Simmons wanted a ride. Simmons had declined. Simply wanting to get home and have something warm to drink next to the fireplace, he hadn't wanted to bother Grif by making him drive the opposit direction of town. Even if Simmons only lived fifteen minutes away from Grif. 

As Simmons neared his cottage he noted a bright spot of color from inside his house. A strange shaped thing with a confusing mesh of colors. Simmons felt dread pool in his gut. He climbed up the steps to his backdoor and slowly stepped inside. He picked up the bat Grif  had dropped just inside the door after he'd learned of Simmons bad habit of forgetting to lock his doors. It's not like Simmons had much to worry about. Being a deathling and all. Simmons didn't really think about a lot of that stuff anymore.

Simmons held the bat close, ready to strike at whatever was in his house. He stepped into his living room and nearly dropped it when his eyes landed on his spare coat draped over a familiar body.

"Bitters?" Simmons stepped closer to the huddling form curled up on the floor near his fireplace. 

The boy looked up wide eyed at Simmons. He looked scared. Terrified. He curled up tighter and Simmons realized he was curled against a second shivering body. Explaining why his aura was so strange looking.

"Sorry." Bitters managed to say through chattering teeth. "I didn't know where to go. I just followed your scent. It was the closest safe place."

"What happened?" Simmons asked coming to kneel down next to the two intruders. He tilted slightly to get a better look at the other person. He caught a glimpse of wide frightened eyes and silver colored curls before turning his attention back to Bitters.

"I heard the pixies screaming." Bitters  whispered. "They were screaming and they wouldn't stop, I needed to help them. The pixies showed me the way. They were being chased by something in the woods. It wasbig. I didn't really get a good look at it."

Simmons frowned. "What happened to it?" He asked looking towards his windows worriedly.

"When I passed into Grifs territory it stopped chasing us." Bitters told him. Tightening his grip on the other person.

"Who is this?" Simmons asked. It seemed like Bitters knew them.

"Matthews. Their names Matthew's. They were in my testing group back in the labs." Bitters admitted quietly.

Simmons stood. Pulling his phone out as he walked into the hallway to get his two shivering guests some blankets.

_ 'Emergency. Bitters and friend at my house. Attacked by something.'  _

Simmons sent to Grif. Hoping the man was able to check his phone. He dug around the hallway closet until he pulled two large blankets out, folding them over his arm he made his way back to the living room.

"Are you hungry?" Simmons asked them, handing the blankets over.

"Something warm would be great." Bitters said quietly. "I don't think they've eaten much." Indicating his friend.

Simmons nodded heading into the kitchen to put soup on the  stove. While the soup heated Simmons walked back out and knelt beside the two again.

"Are they hurt?" He asked.

"Yeah." Bitters admitted.

"Can, uh, can I take a look?"  Simmons asked. As awkward as it was, he didn't want to leave someone in pain if he could help it.

Bitters looked him over. Chewing his lip before deciding to let Simmons get close. Carefully Bitters pulled back the hood of Matthews borrowed coat. The young pixie looked up. Frightened and dazed. They blinked a few times before tensing.

"Its okay." Bitters soothed. "He's just checking. He wont  hurt you." This did little to calm the Pixie but they didn't protest when Simmons unzipped the raincoat. Simmons flushed when he realized Matthews was bare under the fabric. 

Clearing his throat and praying his voice didn't crack, he began to ask questions. "C-can you tell me where it hurts?" 

The pixie blinked slowly before lifting a hand to indicate their back.

"Can I look?" Simmons asked.

Matthews nodded. Slipping the coat all the way off and turning to the side.

Simmons stomach dropped at the awful sight of the torn wing. Thankfully it wasn't torn completely off. Meaning it could be healed. Simmons stood to go grab a first aid kit and a pair of boxers and shirts  for both Bitters and Matthews. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulled it out and opened the message from Grif.

_ 'I'm on my way.' _

He gently places the clothes in the pixies lap, and handed the others to Bitters, before pulling out his gauze and gently wrapping Matthews' wing. It wouldn't do much, but it worked for now to hopfully keep it from tearing anymore than it already had.   


"We can take you to the Farm tomorrow." Simmons said. "Grif  is on his way over now."

"Thanks." Bitters said quietly as Simmons stood  to go check the soup.

Simmons walked into the kitchen and began stirring the soup. Groaning when he felt a pressure begin to build in his head. Yet another headache. Before he moved here he'd been able to ignore the occasional ache. They barely happened once a month, if they happened at all. Ever since moving here the headaches have gotten more and more frequent. He figured it was due to the high level of Unusuals he was now surrounded by. Nothing helped them dissipate, he'd tried all sorts of medication. He was nearly tempted to go ask Doc if he had some way to git rid of them despite what everyone said about his untrustworthy powers.

All he could do for now was pray it went away quickly.  It seemed like the pressure never really went away with these headaches though. Like it was building upon itself getting ready to burst.

Simmons shook his head. Shut off the stove and pulled out some bowls.   


* * *

 

The bear sat at the edge of a large ravine. Ignoring the now foreign anger that clawed at them. They growled low in their chest out of frustration. They'd been tricked, controlled. All over again. Until the small wolf and the pixie child. Until the barrier of protective scent markings they passed through to escape the bear. It had knocked something loose in their head, had jarred the bear long enough to regain control over themselves. To realize what they were doing. The bear had stopped the chase and begun to run the other way  before he felt a tugging in his mind. A familiar one. One he wished he would never feel again.

The person tugging at them played with them, tricked them in to coming here. Why? Why had they done this? It has been years since they'd tried anything. Why now? 

It didn't matter. The bear would leave. They had control now. 

The person tugged at them again and an image of a man came to mind.

The bear growled. No. He had to fight the urge to hunt for them. To protect. It was a lie. A trick. There was no danger. No threat.

The person tugged harder. 

The bear roared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to update early. 
> 
> remember that thing i said about most of the chapters are gonna be short?  
> on the bright side, i'm two chapters of writting ahead of where i'm posting, so if i hit another bout of writers block i'll have stuff to post.
> 
> ANyway, hope those of you that celebrate (or don't) Thanksgiving had a decent time.
> 
> (if the weird spacing thing is still there i'm sorry about that, still can't figure out why it does that. Also please forgive spelling mistakes, been stuck using my phone to write and update. I was at my friends house all weekend for her thankgiving)


	12. Sounding like a shitty poet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wolf needs to roam. Grif needs to get over his fear of admitting that he has a few additions to his already unwanted pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please ignore the glaring spelling errors. It's a manic day and my fingers barely understood the keyboard lol.

 "Simmons?" Grif called as he pushed the door open. His hands shook slightly with stress. The wolf shifted around agitated. Wanting out. Wanting to go prowling around the forest. To mark territory farther out. Widen the barrier between what was out there and the warm cottage within. The Hunter had set the wolf on edge, now the news of something attacking one of his own had driven it to thrash in Grifs head for freedom.

"Here!" Simmons called quietly. 

Grif found him sitting at his kitchen counter. Leg bouncing nervously as he scribbled something down on paper.

"Where are they?" Grif asked. He noted the way Simmons eyes kept glancing at the windows. The wolf growled low. The man didn't feel safe, the wolf needed to fix that. Grif shushed the wolf harshly.

"I put them in my bed. Matthews was ready to crash and Bitters didn't look any better." He explained, running a hand down his face. He motioned Grif to another stool.

"Who's Matthews?" Grif sat and waited for Simmons to explain.

"Not sure. Bitters said he knew them from the labs." Simmons sighed, tossing his pen down. "It was his turn to go out patrolling near your territory. While he was out there he started hearing screaming. Every Pixie for miles was screaming. Begging him to help I guess. What they led him to was Matthew's. The poor kid has a torn wing and a large bruise on his back. The thing that had been chasing the Pixies swatted him into a tree. Then chased Bitters to the edge of your territory."

The wolf thrashed in Grif's head. "Fuck." He ground out. Attempting to get the wolf to calm down. "This isn't good."

"The thing didn't seem interested in passing your markings." Simmons glanced over at him.

"There's a Hunter in town." Grif admitted. Simmons stiffened, his legs going still as he listened to Grif. "That's why Tucker called. Some guy walking around with a picture of a large bald guy with a scarred up face. Said he's looking for him. Asked me and Tucker if we saw a polar bear around recently."

"So what do we do?" Simmons asked. "Ask the Hunter why he's looking for a bear  or..."

"Or we just leave it and hope it goes away." Grif suggested. "Maybe the Shifter will wander off. Taking the guy with him. Maybe the Hunter gets bored and leaves. Either way we should stay out of it."

Simmons chewed on his lip. He thought it over a moment before agreeing. "Alright. I don't go into town anyway, so I shouldn't see the Hunter at all. And the Shifter doesn't seem like it wants to come here."

Grif hesitated, not wanting to admit that the Hunter seemed to know of him. The wolf in Grifs head snarled. Not wanting to give Simmons more of a reason to worry, nor a reason to track the man down.

 Simmons frowned. "You okay?" He asked.

Grif hated that Simmons could tell the wolf was irritated. "Fine. Don't know how long I'm going to be able to talk though." He admitted.

"You can  do it  here." Simmons offered.

Grif's mind went blank. The wolf shocked into silence. "What?" He asked. Needing clarification.

Simmons flushed. "Well I mean... The wolf seems on edge. So I just thought it'd be easier to change here. I don't know if that's like something too intrusive or- You don't - You can just ignore me. It's not like I know much about  Werewolf culture. So-"

"Simmons shut up." Grif sighed. Saving the guy before he could embarrass himself. "I'll change here, Its fine." Grif stood up and made his way to the living room. Simmons following after him curiously.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Grif smirked. "Unless you want to see me naked, I'd turn around." He laughed when Simmons let out a quiet startled 'Oh' before spinning around and placing his hands over his eyes. "This is going to sound awful." Grif warned, stripping off his clothes. Despite being a pureblood werewolf, the shift left an ache in his bones that took hours to dissipate. It still hurt. The snapping of bone and growth of his claws and teeth. The way his nose and jaw broke as they changed shape and elongated. His joints snapping and reshaping. 

When the wolf opened its eyes Simmons was standing there with his shoulders hunched up around his ears. Hands having moved from his eyes to cover up the sounds of snapping bone.

The wolf moved forward and bumped it's head against Simmons ribs.

Simmons startled. Looking down at the wolf, he looked a little nauseous. The wolf huffed. It's not like Simmons had to go through all of that.

"Are you okay?" Simmons asked.

The wolf rolled its eyes. As did the other him. The wolf grinned, tongue lolling out of its mouth to show that it was just fine.

Simmons laughed at the sight, which the wolf took as a good sign and wagged its tail.

"Did you want out?" Simmons asked. "Or do you want to check on Bitters?"

At the younger wolfs name the older wolf perked up. Moving towards the hall with Simmons trailing after it. Simmons opened the door to let the wolf into the room where his young pack mate was curled protectively around the small pixie tucked to his chest. 

The young wolf tensed in his sleep. Sensing others in the room. The older wolf whined softly. The response was immediate. Bitters whined back, his expression smoothing out, and relaxed back into a deep sleep, deeper even, now that his Alpha was here to watch over the pack.

"Huh." Simmons looked at the scene curiously before the wolf nudged him back out the door to leave his pack mate to sleep. Simmons obliged. Slipping into the hall and shutting the door with a soft click.

"Outside?" He asked. 

The  wolf padded to  the backdoor in answer. Waited until Simmons opened the door then was off like a shot. Through the trees all the way out to the edge of its territory. It paced the perimeter twice. Remarking places where his scent was weak.  Pausing for a long moment in the space where he could scent the Shifter. It still smelled of Bitters. Of the keen terror that his pup had felt in that moment. The wolf howled into the night. A warning to anything that heard it.

As much as the wolf wanted to expand its territory farther out from the cottage  its  human half argued against it. It was only more area to cover and worry about. As it was just patrolling what area they currently had, had taken enough time that it was getting dark out. 

The wolf trudged back home in the shadows of the trees. It paused at the tree line and looked over the small cottage that contained a bright point in its life. 

Shut up. Its other half snapped. Sound like a shitty poet. He grumbled.

The wolf rolled its eyes. Padding up to the door, left wide open for his return. He came inside and nosed the door closed behind him. He found Simmons hanging up coats next to the front door. The man turned when he noticed  him.

"Hey." He greeted tiredly, reaching out and patting the wolfs head. 

The wolf looked up at him. Noting the dark color under his eyes and the lines of his body that ached for sleep. The  wolf gently, so very gently it assured its other half, placed Simmons lefthand in its mouth and led him to the living room. The wolf was a little amazed Simmons trusted it not to bite, it gave the wolf a warm, smug feeling.

"What are you doing?" Simmons asked, amused and a little disgusted by the slobber now coating his fingers.

The wolf ignored the question it couldn't very well answer vocally. Nudging Simmons until he sat on the couch. The wolf softly pushed against Simmons head with its own until the man was laying with his head against the cushion  and refused to let him get up once he was reclined.

"You're a lot weirder than your human counterpart." Simmons stated, yawning tiredly.

The wolf simply laid down on the floor against the couch.Hoping the stubborn man would get the hint. It startled when it felt a hand in it's fur, scratching softly at the base of its neck.

"Really soft..." Simmons slurred sleepily.

The wolf closed its eyes half way, determined to keep watch over the pack as they slept, but also really enjoying the soft scratching of Simmons fingers in its fur that made it feel content and sleepy.

Not all of them are pack. It's human half said stubbornly. 

The wolf snorted and ignored them. It had better things to worry about. Such as the Shifter wandering near its territory attacking other Fae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Info dump:
> 
> so in his human form Grif is 5'7.  
> Simmons is 6'3 cause i love tol simmons.  
> In his wolf form Grif is 5'3. He's a very big wolf.  
> Bitters is about 5'5 as a human, as a wolf he's 5'1  
> Matthews in his human form is small for a pixie at 4'7, when he's in his true pixie form he's like six inches tall. (in this verse normal pixie hight is about 10 inches, and human size is like 5'1. Matthews is vry smol.)
> 
> also some ages:  
> Grif: 27  
> Simmons: 25  
> Bitters: 18  
> Matthews:17 (in pixie years he's still only 17, pixies live to be about 150yrs in this verse.)  
> Tucker:23  
> Junior: 3  
> Caboose: 26 (but his brain functions like a 8yr old at this point, since his brain is develping slower than his body) (Bonus: Freckles: about 1300yrs old, may or may not explain this later)  
> Church: 32 (does it make his relationship with Tucker wierd? like is that too much of an age gap? Should i fix it?)  
> Donut: 22  
> Flowers:45  
> Sarge:43  
> Doc: 24  
> I had more writen here before i realized they would be spoilers. So, none for you ;P


	13. Bitter blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning brings with it some issues, and quite a bit of angst.

 

 

 

"Not mate, my ass." Bitters muttered under his breath as he wandered out from Simmons bedroom. He discovered Grif sleeping soundly up against the couch where Simmons was sprawled out. Hand over the edge and buried in Grif's fur.

His wolf was happy that the Alpha had found a mate. Their Alpha was much more pleasant now that the odd human was around.

Bitters snorted, but couldn't deny any of that. Grif was happier with Simmons around. Even if he refused to acknowledge it.

Bitters made his way to the kitchen. It was easier to see how much time Grif spent here once he was looking around. The cutting board and knife block were set up for someone dominantly left handed. The things in the cupboards Grif would use on lower shelves than where someone as tall as Simmons would have them. It was unmistakably obvious that Simmons had moved things around so they were easier to reach if you were say, Grif's height.

Snooping. He would completely admit that's what he was doing. He'd never been here before. Has barely been anywhere outside the Farm since he was fifteen and Kimball rescued them for the labs. Smith was let out to explore the town often, mostly to keep an eye on Caboose since Freckles was much too large to let roam around in the middle of town.

Bitters was also looking for something to eat, for himself and Matthews. He knew that before long they would wake up hungry. 

There's a loud thud from the hallway, followed quickly by Simmons calling out for him.

"Aw shit!" Bitters hurried from the kitchen. Dreading what he would find.

His wolf tensed in his mind. Ready to fight Bitters for control. They had only just gotten Matthews back, they weren't going to lose him again.

Matthews had Simmons crowded against the wall. Looking scared and hungry. They stared blankly at Simmons neck, in debate with themselves.

Simmons looked nervous and confused. Glancing from Matthews to Bitters, to Grif as he stood perfectly still.

Grif was growling low, ready to launch himself at the small Pixie. The only thing stopping him was Simmons holding his hand out to keep him in place.

Oh no.

 One of the things few people knew about Pixies, as odd as it was, on ce a Pixie tasted blood it was like an addiction. Something they craved. 

Back in the labs, when Bitters had been human, they'd had Matthews feed off Bitters once a day.  Forcing the change in Matthews to quicken. They hadn't meant to become friends. Weren't supposed to really. It was kind of hard not to get to know someone when you spent every day for six months with them.

He knew that Matthews hated the craving. Hated the need to feed off of people. Hated the labs for forcing the change in them. They would spend an hour apologizing for what they had to do.

Bitters didn't know what Matthews did for blood now. Maybe they fed off of the wildlife. He'd hoped that the Pixie would have tried to get better. He was a little disappointed that it wasn't the case.

"Matthews." Bitters said quietly, stepping up slowly as not to startle the Pixie into any actions they would regret later. "Hey, come on." He pulled the Pixie away and led them towards the kitchen. "We don't feed on people without permission, remember?" He questioned.

Matthews nodded slowly. The farther away from Simmons they got, the more they regained control over themselves. "Not without permission." They parroted. Dazed from hunger and lingering pain.

"Right." Bitters sat them down at the counter and puttered around looking for cups and a pan for water. Once he had the water heating on the stove he began looking for sugar. 

"What are you doing?" Grif's voice asked. Causing Bitters to startle and almost drop the container of sugar on the floor.

At the counter Matthews tensed.

"I'm feeding them." Bitters answered. Instinct forcing him to turn and look his Alpha in the eye.

Grif looked bed raggled. Hair sticking up every where, in odd angles, since he'd yet to pull it back into his customary ponytail. His clothes were rumpled, and he hadn't bothered putting shoes on.

"Alright. Explain what happened in the hall." He ordered. Waiting for Matthews to answer, but the Pixie kept quiet. Staring hard at the counter.

Bitters sighed. "They're blood hungry."  He answered for them.

Grif frowned. Glancing at the Pixie and giving them a once over. "Blood hungry?"

"Pixies get addicted." Bitters shrugged. Pouring the now boiling water into a cup. "The people at the lab used to use me to feed them  before they decided the tests were too boring i guess." He added. Spooning some sugar into the water. "But I know how to help them, so they should be okay. It's not the first blood hungry Fae I've had to feed." Bitters grabbed a knife from the knife rack and ran it over his palm, splitting the skin over the cup and letting his blood drip into the sugar water. He placed the knife in the sink and waited for his hand to heal over before mixing the drink with a finger and sliding it over to Matthews.

Grif watched the Pixie stare at the cup, glancing over at Grif nervously before picking it up and taking a sip. Though the delicacy didn't last long. As soon as the taste of blood hit their tongue the Pixie was chugging the mixture.

Bitters quickly reached out and slowed them. "You'll make yourself sick." He warned.

Matthews nodded. Slowing themselves but not letting go of the cup.

"So are they okay?" Simmons asked from over Grifs shoulder. Grif purposely blocking the doorway  so the man couldn't move into the room  in case the Pixie was still a threat.

Bitters looked to Matthews, waiting for them to confirm or deny.

Matthews nodded. Better now that the singing in their veins was sated and quiet.

Simmons not so subtly shoved Grif out of the way. Moving to make a pot of coffee. Grif following behind with a grumble at the rough handling. He took a seat next to Matthews and waited.

Matthews was still tense. Still unsure. They felt like they'd offended Bitters' Alpha. They looked the man over nervously. They hadn't meant to make such a bad impression. They hoped the man could forgive their mistake.

"What?" Grif asked, not bothering to look over at them.

"I'msorryIthreatenedyourmate!" They blurted out a little panicked .

The room froze. Grif zeroed in on Bitters with a glare.  Bitters, wishing he could go back to last night and bite his tongue before he'd said anything, simply took the now empty cup from Matthews  shaking hands and began to wash it out. Simmons resolutely ignored it and continued pouring himself a cup of coffee. By now used to everyone mistaking him for Grif's mate.It wasn't helped by the fact that Grifs entire pack seemed resolute in their belief that Simmons was Alpha mate.

Matthews quickly picked up on the mood. "I'm sorry... Did I offend you? I didn't mean to." They rambled. "I just wanted to apologize for losing control like I did. Usually I have a better handle on myself. I've been working really hard at it - "

"Matthews shut up." Bitters groaned. The Pixies jaw clicked shut as they waited for someone else to speak.

"It's fine." Grif answers finally. "Bitters handled it. So don't worry about it." He reached over as Simmons held out a second cup of coffee and plucked it from the mans hand.

"So we're going to the Farm when Grif's done with the coffee." Simmons announces. "I called ahead to let Sheila know. Vanessa's going to meet us near the resting hall."

"Am I going to be in trouble?" Matthews asks nervously. Picking at the borrowed shirt they still wore.   


The other three look over at them confused.

"Why would you be?" Simmons asks.

"I'm a blood addict." They say. Looking ashamed of admitting it out loud.

"There are worse people still allowed to walk around." Grif says, draining his cup of coffee. "I see no reason you should get in trouble for something you can't help." He pauses, thinking suddenly of the argument from months ago. He grimaces at his hypocrisy, before deciding to ignore it.

"Oh!" Simmons blurts out. Looking the two young Unusuals over. "I guess I should find you something to wear huh?" He says sheepishly. He places his mug in the sink and hurries from the room.

Grif sighs. Standing and following him  at a slower pace.

Matthews and Bitters are left in an awkward silence. Years of not knowing the others fate suddenly pressing down on them.

Matthews bites their lip nervously. Cracking under the pressure of the silence. "So uh... I see you found a goodpack." They say quietly.

Bitters snorts. "You were my pack." He replies shortly. Telling Matthew it was a touchy subject.

"I... I didn't know that." Matthews presses on. 

"You would have." Bitters says quietly. "If you had come with me."

"I couldn't." Matthews replies. 

"You didn't want to." He argues.

"I did!" Matthews says loudly. Flinching at their own volume before closing their eyes and continuing. "I wanted to go. I really did."

"Then why didn't you?" Bitters asks. 

"You don't know what it's like."  Matthews says quietly. "The calling in your bones, the ache for blood. It's  hard to resist. I... I was lost to it. I was lost to myself. I spent the last few years living on the Other Side to keep people safe."

"Why'd you come back?" Bitters demanded. "If you would drop everything to be there, then why come back?! Why now?!"

"Because I missed you!" Matthews yelled. "What do you want me to say Antoine? I'm sorry!"

"Don't call me that!" Bitters snapped. Slamming his hands down on the counter.

The Pixie flinched back. Curling slightly in on themselves. Not in fright of Bitters anger. No. Distressed over the clear hurt in his voice. Matthews opened their mouth to apologize once more, only to shut it with a soft click, deciding that it would do no good. Werewolves were very tactile people. Just saying something never got the point across, you had to show them.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway.  

Turning, Matthews spotted Grif standing in there with two piles of clothing.

"Get dressed." He said simply. Placing the piles in the counter nearest their new owners. "Oh and Bitters," he paused glancing at the cup now on the counter. "Simmons won't admit it but he'll never use that cup again so you might as well trash it." He said as he left the room.

Bitters rolled his eyes and tossed the cup in the trash before grabbing his set of clothes and heading for the bedroom. "The bathroom's the door at the end of the hall." He told Matthews before disappearing.

Matthews frowned but grabbed their outfit as well.

Later, as they all piled into the jeep, Matthews could tell that Bitters was trying to keep his distance. He hadn't said a word after the outburst in the kitchen.

Matthews rubbed at their eyes tiredly. Maybe they'd made a mistake coming back. In hindsight they hadn't really thought it out beyond simply seeing Bitters again. 

The car ride is mostly silent. Grif and Simmons up front talking quietly amongst themselves. Matthews catches snippets of their conversation. Something about the likelihood of someone named Church eating someone named Tucker in a fit of rage. It sounded mostly like a joke. Mostly. Simmons snorted and commented that he probably did it nightly anyway.

Matthews tuned them out after that. Watching the road pass by as they drove farther and farther out.   


"So where are you from?" Simmons asks abruptly. Turned in the passengers seat to look back at them.

"The Other Side." Matthews responds quietly. 

"Seelie, or Unseelie?" Grif asks.

Matthews hesitates. "I uh..."

"I'm from Unseelie, seeing as my kind is a bunch of cursed mongrels." Grif says, rolling his eyes. 

"I was from the Seelie court, but after the labs I was... cast out." Matthews bites their lip. Hoping for this conversation to steer away from this subject. They didn't like thinking on losing their place among the Seelie as well as their family.

"For the whole blood drinking thing. Yeah I can see why they would throw a fit, bunch of pretentious assholes..." Grif nods. "No offense or anything kid." He tacks on when Simmons glares at him.

"Where are you from?" Matthews asks Simmons.

Simmons laughs. "A state over."

Matthews frowns. Remembering last night. Simmons had come in the room already knowing there was someone there. "You're not an unusual?"

The man shakes his head. "Nope. Well, not really..." Simmons frowns. "I don't know what I am actually."  He admits with a shrug.

"Oh." Matthews watches as Simmons turns back around frowning to himself. They glance at Bitters and find the other boy glowering out the window. 

Matthews is starting to feel like maybe coming back hadn't been such a good idea after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got a little writers block around the next chapter, thankfully i was able to kinda force myself through it one word a day style lol.
> 
> Also, again if i messed up Matthews pronouns please tell me so i can fix it. They're supposed to be nonbinary. They/them.


	14. Pocket full of feathers, hand full of candy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthews is a bit overwhelmed by the new faces smiling down at him.  
> Church has a bad feeling that things aren't what they seem.

 

Vanessa Kimball turns out to be a Seelie elf with a regal air about her and an understanding smile.

The first thing she does when Matthews meets her is shake their hand. Surprising the pixie. At first they aren't sure Simmons told Vanessa of their addiction. That is until she begins to speak.

"I understand you'll be needing a special dietary plan. Is that correct?" She asks.

Matthews smile freezes. "I uh... I don't-" They stammer. 

Vanessa laughs. Not meanly. But a kind chuckle as they attempt to figure out what to say. "It's alright. We have a lot of Unusuals here. Many of them have certain diets they can't ignore."

Matthews shakes their head, rubbing at his throat. "It's not... Uh. I was going through a blood detox before I came here. I um... I relapsed today." He flushes. Ashamed to admit it out loud.

Vanessa smiles softly. "That's understandable. You had quite a day yesterday. There's no need to be ashamed of that. We have a detox program, if you'd like to try it. I can set it up  while you get your physical."

"M-my phisycal?" Matthews asked nervously.

Vanessa nodded. "It's standard everyone here get's one every six months. It's a formality. So we can see how healthy you are and if there is something better we can do to help you."

Matthews nods. Following behind her when she beckons them to. They feel twitchy and nervous. Eyes darting over the halls as they pass by room full of Unusuals. They can't help but feel as though they're being judged as they walk by door after door. Some of the inhabitants waiting to see the new resident are perched just inside, peering out curiously.

"Are you alright?" Vanessa asks. "Are they making you nervous?"

" 'm okay." They mumble. Out of everything she was making them the most anxious. It wasn't normal for a Seelie elf of all beings to treat them like they were on the same level of respect. Especially since they were a Seelie castaway. They can't help but feel like it's some kind of trick. It doesn't help that Bitters had disappeared as soon as they got here. Simmons had been swarmed by children and quickly kidnapped. Grif had told them to come find him should he start to feel overwhelmed, then promptly sat in the grass and closed his eyes. Leaving Matthews alone with this odd woman.

Vanessa frowns, but leaves it there. They pass a courtyard and enter a clinical looking area. The white walls glow under the fluorescent lighting. Causing Matthews to squint for a bit as their eyes adjusted to the room.

"Who have we here?" A voice calls out, sounding extremely too cheerful.

Matthews hand tightens around the hem of their borrowed shirt. Looking around until they spot the grinning doctor. She's dressed in purple scrubs, save for the odd white feathered shawl draped around her hips. They look to Kimball for explanation but find the woman frowning at her phone.

The doctor hurries around the counter, clipboard in hand. "You must be Matthews."

Matthews nods. 

"I'm Emily Grey. Head doctor here at the farm." She smiles. "Are you ready for your physical?"

Again all Matthews could do was nod.

"That's great!" Emily's smile widens. "Please follow me." 

"I'll get your detox schedule set up while you're back there." Kimball calls out to them before they walked through a set of double doors.

"So, can I get your first name?" Emily asks as they walked towards a room.

"Madeline." Matthews answers after a moment. Matthews didn't usually go by their first name. It was almost strange at this point to hear it spoken. In fact the last time they remember it spoken by someone else was when their mother had been calling for them  frantically.

"That's a lovely name." She says as she motions them into a room.

"Oh um, thank you." Matthews replies quietly, boosting themselves up on the examination table.

Emily shuts the door with a soft click and begins pulling things from drawers around the room. "How old are you Madeline?" 

"I'm seventeen. And um... Please call me Matthews."

Emily glances up at them. "Okay, can you tell me your gender Matthews?"

Matthews bites their lip. Pixies have always had a pretty loose sense of gender. To the point that a lot of them flitted between genders at any given point. Or like Matthews, they simply ignored genders completely.

"I don't really have a gender." They  explain.

Emily nods and writes it down. "Okay, can you tell me a little bit about your background?" 

"Like what?" Matthews asks.

"Where you grew up. Who your parents were, any health problems they had. That sort of thing." 

Matthews thinks hard on that subject. "I was born in the southern isles on the Other Side. I was raised in a roaming tribe. My parents didn't have any health issues as far as I remember."

Emily looks up from her clipboard. "Are the markings on your skin from the tribe?" She asked. Indicating the faint shimmering green swirls that twirled down their cheeks from their hair line, down around their throat and arms. Stopping at their wrists.   


Matthews shakes their head. "They showed up after they made me drink blood the first time." They explain.

Emily frowns. "Your tribe?"

"No. The men at the uh... at the lab. They were using us for experiments." They say uneasily.

"I see. Did they do any other experiments?" She asks.

"No. They stopped the experiment when  they figured out that drinking werewolf blood wasn't doing anything to me." They explain. "After that they put me back in the cage."

Emily pauses. "Was Bitters the werewolf?" She asks. Remembering the weeks it had taken to get Bitters under control. Convincing him not to run off after someone who was most likely dead.

Matthew nods. "He turned after they put  me  in  the  cell with him... I think... I think they thought one of us would kill the other."

Emily looks at them solemnly. "I am so sorry that happened to you." 

Matthews doesn't know how to respond to that, so they shrug awkwardly.

"The day we raided the lab, how come you didn't come here with us?" She asks curiously.

Matthews looks down at their shirt. "I didn't feel safe around people." They admit

"You were scared." She realizes.

Matthews nods silently.

"I understand. Probably better than most here." She states. "Do you see this sash? " She asks pointing to the feathered shawl resting over her hips. "Its actually my second skin."

Matthews frowns. "I don't understand."

Emily smiles gently. "I'm a swan maiden."

"Is that like a selkie?" Matthews asks.

"You could say that." She nods. Frowning softly at her clipboard. "Sometimes when bad things happen, we don't feel safe being who we are, so we decide to hide away. I asked a witch to curse me so I would feel safe again."

"Wasn't that dangerous?" They ask.

"Yes, but so was fleeing alone to the Other Side. We do what we think is right to feel safe."Emily sets the clipboard down and makes her way to their side. "I need to look at your wing now. Is that okay?"

Matthews nods.

When Emily begins to unwrap the gauze Matthews sucks in a pained breath. It hadn't hurt this bad last night. Well from what Matthews remembered of last night. It was all a bit hazy. 

Emily hisses when she finally gets it all off. "This is pretty bad. Fortunately I'm the best doctor around. I should be able to get this beauty healed right up."

"Thank you." Matthews says quietly.

"No need to thank me. It's my oath as a doctor to help those in need."  She replies. Grabbing up a needle and a small container of shimmering thread.

"What is that?" They ask.

"Unicorn hair. I figured out a few years back that its really good for stitching up the really delicate bits that some Unusuals have. It also helps with the healing process."  She explains. As she finishes stitching the wing ip and wrapping it back up delicately. "You still wont be able to fly or shrink for a while but it's the best I can do."

There's a knock on the door moments before Kimball enters the room. She's holding a set of clothes and a room key.

"Hows everything going in here?" She asks stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Great!" Emily says cheerfully. "I just need a few blood samples and they'll be ready for the grand tour." 

Matthews holds out their arm when Emily motions them to. Needle ready she pricks their arm swiftly and precisely. She takes three vials and bandages them up. 

She places an lollypop in their hand and grins. "All done."

"Thank you." Kimball says. Her hand coming to rest on the small of Matthews back as she escorts them from the room. "Are you okay?" She asks them as the make their way back down the hall.

"Yes. She was very nice to me." They answer despite knowing that's not what she meant by the question. They stare down at the candy in their hand and smile. 

Maybe this place wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

 

Church was currently sitting in his office at the Farm. He was working on adding a few of the newbies into the system, when he looked up and noticed Simmons through the window, walking down the hall with Theta, Eta and Iota trailing after him.

Church frowns. He liked Simmons, don't get him wrong. He just couldn't help but feel like something was off about the guy. Something uneasy rested in him when he thought about the fact that they knew hardly anything about the man. That included Grif. After Tucker had brought up what happened last night with the hunter Church had felt the need to do a little research on the man. He hadn't liked what he found.

Just like with Blood Gulch, where it was a safe haven for Unusuals, there were towns where Hunters gathered together. There were six major towns like that all over the country. One happened to be a state over. Just a ten hour drive away. One that Simmons just so happened to be from. That alone wouldn't be cause for suspicion, had Church been able to find concrete records for Simmons. He'd found was a death certificate dated a month before he'd shown up in town, the rest of it was bank statements and documentation for the school he'd been attending. Church knew he was a  Deathling, but the way Simmons spoke about it made it seem like it had happened when he was younger. The fact that there was actual documentation of his death, and an obituary, made Church pause.  

Something wasn't right with the situation. He needed to find out if that something was dangerous. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am currently, attempting to update while a bit drunk. My birthday was yesterday (its only 2 am here), i am now a whole whopping 22. but thats not what i was talking about though. what im trying to say is that i am editing this while a bit drunk. so i'll fix any mistakes i miss when i am less drunk. but i wanted to celebrate with you birdies. so have a chapter!
> 
> also for that weird spacing issue, i think it might be the formatting on my phone but idk how to fix that.
> 
> okay so like. Emily Grey is a swan maiden. thats someone who can turn into a swan. and while they don't normaly have a second skin like a selkie, her shawl is actually the cursed item the witch gave her so she could turn into a swan. so shes like a foux swan maiden.


	15. Tears over corpses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four in the morning is not an acceptable time to break in to someones house, people are too emotional after midnight.  
> Grif can't help what the wolf feels just as much as Simmons can't help how broken he's become. Maybe they'll figure it out. Maybe they won't.

It's two days after they bundled Matthews over to the farm. After making sure the young pixie was getting settled in, and had Simmons' and Grifs numbers written down for emergency situations, they had left with an almost tearful goodbye, mostly on Matthews' part. The pixie had been extremely anxious to be left alone in a building of people they didn't know. Grif had finally assured them that if they didn't like it there, they could come stay with him for a bit, until they figured out something else at least. Grif hadn't had someone that young stay with him since his sister left for college, and wasn't looking forward to it again.

Simmons wakes early to the sound of someone moving around his kitchen. Groaning he crawls out of bed and shuffles through his house, already knowing who he would find. 

“You need to stop leaving so many dead bodies in my kitchen.” He mumbles, rubbing at his eyes.     

Grif looks up from his bowl of ice cream. "What?" He says through a mouth full of goopy frozen cow lactation. Simmons grimaces.    

"Don't 'what' me." He grabs the tub of ice cream off the counter and shoves it back in the freezer next to the hunk of meat the Creature behind him has stored away. It wasn't even his ice cream, he'd bought it for the werewolf on a whim simply because he knew Grif liked it. 

"Look, it's not my fault you chose to live in the middle of the woods within walking distance of my cabin, you're my only neighbor." The werewolf shrugs.    

"Grif it's four in the morning and you broke into my house to shove another deer carcass in my freezer." Simmons yawns. "The least you could do is be fucking quiet about it."   

"Okay, first off, I keep telling you lock your fucking door. Second, I'm not gonna let a whole deer go to waste and I had no more room so I brought you a little bit." He waves his spoon around, slopping melted ice cream onto the counter.    

Huffing Simmons grabs a towel to clean it up. "I don't lock my door because I forget and don't need to. I live in the woods, and you've pissed all over every tree for two miles. Who's gonna break in? A bear? Also i don't think half a deer count's as a 'little bit'."     

Grif rolls his eyes. "Yes Simmons a fucking bear. In case you've forgotten, there is an actual polar bear running around attacking things!" Tossing his empty bowl into the sink, he crossed the room to stand in front of the taller man. "Whatever, it's not like you have much in your freezer to begin with anyway."    

"If the bear really wanted in, a flimsy fucking lock isn't stopping him!" Simmons pointed out. "And I haven't been shopping in a while. I've been busy, it hasn't been on my mind." He said quietly, eyes shifting nervously away from the werewolf.   

"You keep 'forgetting' to do a lot of shit." Grif scoffed. "You can't use that excuse for everything." 

"I knew you were going to show up with half a deer! Like you've done every month since i moved here!" Simmons defends. "I was waiting to go. Why is this a problem?!" 

"You don't eat enough, you're going to be skin and bones if I don't bring you half my deer." Grif states. The wolf whines in agreement. 

"You realize I'm technically not supposed to be alive? I'm a walking talking corpse-"    

"Stop." Grif interrupts. The wolf shifts in agitation, it didn't like when Simmons talked about himself like that. Like he was simply a dead thing walking around calling itself Simmons, and pretending to be human. "Dude, you walk and talk and need to take care of yourself to continue doing that shit. I get you don't really feel hunger anymore or whatever your fucking problem is, but I'm not about to come over and find you half starved again." Which is why he comes over and makes the man cook for him, an excuse to make sure Simmons fed himself as well. He wasn't about to have a repeat of the first time they technically met. If he ever found the man like that now the wolf would probably have an aneurysm. 

"I know." Simmons mutters. Signaling to Grif that he wasn't in the mood for this talk. Too bad. If Grif had to listen to the Wolf worry and complain, then so did Simmons.   

"If you know then why don't you try harder to remember?"    

"It's not that easy!" Simmons snaps. "It's not like remembering when the full moon is every month! I can't control this just as much as you can't control your condition!"    

"You _can_ try harder, you just _won't_!" Grif snaps back. He knows he's making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. He can't stop himself. It's only been an hour since he shifted back into his human form. His emotions and those of the wolf are still mingled. He can feel the wolf's worry over its mate- Simmons, over Simmons. Who was in no way anything close to his mate. Cause if he was, Grif would currently be doing a poor job of taking care of him and that was not acceptable by an Alphas standards. 

"You're right." Grifs thoughts stop abruptly at those words. Simmons isn't looking at him. He's staring down at his metal arm, hidden under magic to make it appear made of flesh. Unshed tears making his eyes shine. 

 Fuck, it was going to be one of these mornings. Grif hated these mornings, they just left him feeling like an asshole more often than not.  

Simmons sniffles and continues. "I should- I should be taking better care of myself. I should care that I leave my door unlocked for anyone to stroll through." The tears start to drop. "I should care, but no matter how hard I try I just... Can't. Ever since I woke up in that- place. I can't Grif. I wasn't meant to be alive. I was dead! I was dead and he had no right to bring me back!" He rasps. Hands clutching at his head. "I didn't _want_ to come back." He chokes.    

"Fuck." Grif whispers, moving forward to grab Simmons hands and pull them away from his head to keep him from tugging at his hair. "Stop. It's okay. We don't have to talk about this." Grif doesn't know the story behind Simmons accident. The man doesn't want to talk about how he became what he is. Grif hasn't asked. Doesn't plan to. He doesn't need to know what happened to know how fucked up it left the man in front of him. 

Grif helps Simmons back to his room. Despite his protests otherwise Simmons still needed to eat and sleep like a normal human. Grif dumped him in the large king sized bed. Tugs the blankets over him and tucked him in. Simmons trying to protest the entire time.  

"Hush. It's too early, you shouldn't be up yet." Grif made sure to set the alarm in the clock to eight. Any later than that and Simmons would get pissy.  

Simmons was snoring by the time he left.    

A few hours later his phone begins to vibrate. Waking him from his doze.    

_'_ _Come over for dinner. We can eat your deer carcass.'_     

Grif snorts. He knew Simmons either wouldn't remember what had happened, or would pointedly not bring it up. Grif was more than okay with that. 

_'if ur cooking I_ _want_ _something grilled_ _'_     

He remembered fondly those first few months, when Simmons could make nothing but sandwiches without burning it. Now he could at least grill if all else failed.    

_'Yeah, I'm cooking. I'll run to town today. You need anything?'_     

From the couch Grif looked around his small cabin. Glanced at the door leading to the kitchen. No, he really didn't need anything.    

_'Yeah_ _come pick me up_ _'_     

An hour later he was sitting in the passenger seat of Simmons jeep. They drove into the little town of Blood Gulch and found a parking spot pretty easily. They walked over to the bakery, bickering about what to eat for dinner. 

"Sup!" Tucker waved from behind the counter. "You here for your usual?"    

"Yeah, someone stuffed another body in my freezer." Simmons huffed. While he was busy checking out the fresh bread Tucker sent Grif a look. One eyebrow arching and a smile tugging at his lips. Grif scowled.    

Tucker rung up the bread and passed it to Simmons. "Hey," He called before they could leave. "I kinda need to talk to Grif for a moment." There was something in his voice that told them it was a private conversation.    

Simmons glances nervously between the two before shrugging. "I'm heading over to Donut's, he wanted me to come see his new inventory of furniture. He's still trying to get me to redecorate. Come find me when your done."    

"What do you want Tucker?" Grif demands the moment the door closed behind Simmons.    

"I heard from Church today."  He says quietly. His boyfriend had been out looking into the polar bears location, being one of few fae that could outrun the Shifter if he needed.    

Grifs whole body tenses. "And?"    

"He says he lost track of the Shifter, and the Hunter's not wandering around town anymore, but his shit's still here..." The look on his face told Grif what he was about to say next.     

"Tucker-"    

"I know dude, but you need to tell Simmons, he might be in danger if the Hunter knows him."    

"I can't risk scaring him off. He's... The wolf would..." He trails off, desperately wishing he knew how to explain the panicked feeling in his chest at the very thought of Simmons deciding he'd had enough of Blood Gulch. As much as he would love to deny it, he'd become attached to the weird human he called his neighbor. Maybe not as much as the wolf, but the feelings were there. 

"I get it man, I do. But if you didn't scare him off by now, I doubt you're ever going to."    

Grif recalled the first time the wolf met Simmons and smiled. Then he thought about the thing prowling around the woods. He needed to tell Simmons about the Hunter potentially knowing him, maybe Simmons might know something about what was going on. Or maybe Tucker was right, maybe Simmons was in danger.

"I'll talk to him." Grif sighs. 

"That's great. By the way, stop by my apartment later today. We can figure out what to do with the Hunter then."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Birdies!  
> Lets start this year off with some angst!
> 
> So this was actually the first chapter i wote for this fic. It started out with the prompt “You need to stop leaving dead bodies in my kitchen.”. It was going to be just a simple one shot at first but i got a spark to write more for it. As you can see i did some tailoring to make it fit the rest of the fic, but if it sounds disjointed in places then that's why.


	16. Pouring gasoline on the fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (doesn't put it out)
> 
> Things are starting to move quickly, but not for the better.  
> Church should keep his nose out of things he knows nothing about. While Grif needs to have a sit down with Simmons if he want's things like this to stop happening.

 

Church paced back and forth in the middle of Tuckers living room. Irritation evident in his every movement. "Not only is there a Hunter running around town, but that fucking polar bear is still out near Grifs house. We have no idea what either man is doing here. No ones seen the Hunter in two days. And the bear has been MIA since the incident near Simmons' house!"  

 Looking up from where he was watching his son play with blocks Tucker rolled his eyes at the man. "It's not like we can do much about it. If it get's out of hand we'll round up a search party from the Farm like last time and go hunt the Shifter down."  

Church paused. "Last time we gathered up a search party I almost got eaten by Grif." he reminded the other man.  

"Well I meant without the mind control garbage." Tucker scoffed. "It won't be like that."  

"Last time we had to help a Hunter I almost killed you." Church adds stubbornly. Picking up his pacing once more.  

Tucker groaned. "Caboose had you tucked under his arm unable to move before you could do any damage."  

Church stills. "That's not how that happened and you know it." He grits his teeth. The memory of Tucker pleading for him to stop, begging him _'please Church listen to me man you don't want to do this its not you'_. The awareness and horror of what he was doing but unable to stop himself. The numb feeling in his head as he acted out someone else's desires.  

Tucker sighs. Standing from the couch and stepping over to Church. He reached out and grabbed his upper arm gently.  

"You've gotta get over that." He says gently. "It's been years. He's locked up. Caboose forgave you. I forgave you."  

"I lost control, I hurt you." Church whispered. Reaching up and laying his hand over Tuckers. "I can't just get over that." With his other hand he reached out and traced the faint scar on Tuckers' shoulder. He'd put that there. With someone else's anger and bloodlust. Yet with his teeth and his hands. Church leaned into Tucker and rested his head over the scar. He felt exhausted.   

Tucker began moving them towards the bedroom. Sensing his boyfriends emotional state. "I invited Grif and Simmons over later, so we can figure out what to do about the Hunter. I'm not sure how Grif is gonna feel about a search party either."  

"Cause the hunter thought he knew Simmons." Church stated as he was shuffled into bed. He smiled when he felt Junior climbing into bed with them. Coming to tuck himself against his dads chest.  

"Yeah." Tucker shifted as his son wiggled around to get comfortable. "I told him to talk to Simmons about it, but I don't know if he will."  

"The hunter probably might know of him. Simmons is from a hunting town." Church lets slip. Tucker stiffens.  

"What?" The other man breathes. "How do you know that?"  

"I looked him up." Church admitted. "It's possible Simmons might know him too."  

"You think so?"  

Church shrugged. "Don't know, it's possible."   

"Does Grif know?" Tucker asks.  

"Don't know." He slurred tiredly.  

"God damn." Tucker swore as he pulled his blanket over them. "Simmons has more layers than Donuts ten layered cake."  

Church laughed. Slipping into sleep minutes later. Curled around Tuckers smaller frame and snoring into his hair.  

Hours later he woke to the sound of someone knocking at the door.  

"Got it." Tucker slurred. Wiggling out of bed and shambling from the room.  

Minutes later Church heard the door open.  

"Hey." Grif's voice carried down the hall. "Guess what, I almost had Simmons convinced to go streaking through town for a hundred bucks."  

Simmons squawked. "You did not!"  

"Quiet!" Tucker snapped.  

Church felt Junior shift and climb out of bed. Silently the boy made his way from the room to greet his uncle Grif.   

Church groaned and followed after a minute later. In the living room Simmons and Grif were lounging on the couch, watching Junior show them his new blocks. The three year old grinning at them widely as they enthusiastically acted impressed.  

"I think we need to talk about the hunter." Church said.  

"No one's seen him in a few days." Simmons says, looking up from Junior to Church standing in the hallway.  

"I know, that's what I'm worried about. Do you know what he's doing here?" He asks Simmons. 

The man frowns. "Only what you guys know. Why?"  

"That hunter seemed to know of you apparently. Not surprising considering you come from a town most notable for its large number of Hunters."  

Simmons stiffened. "How did you know that?" 

Grif looked over at him confused. "Is that true?"  

"It's not just that though." Church went on, deciding now was a good a time as any to bring up the other stuff he'd found out about their new neighbor. "Your documents say that you're dead? I know you're a deathing or whatever, but why bother hiding the fact that you're alive?"  

Tucker frowned. "What?"   

"Did you go through my whole life?" Simmons breathed. Anxiety clear in his voice.  

"Only the past year." Church admitted. "There wasn't much. Doesn't explain why you'd pretend to be dead." 

Simmons hands balled up at his sides. "I didn't fake anything if that's what you're getting at."  

"A freak accident at your work. Malfunctioning lab equipment. A fire breaking out that only happens to kill a single person. Seems kinda suspicious Simmons." Church pressed. "A lot of stuff about you doesn't add up."  

"You have no idea what you're talking about." He said lowly. "I didn't work there. I didn't fake my death. I'm not helping the hunter, or whatever it is you think I'm doing." He repeated, standing from the couch. His hands began to shake, but all Church could pick up was anxiety. Simmons wasn't lying.  

"So what? Is that where you died then? Why hide that?" Church frowned, confused.  

Grif sat straighter as the wolf began to snarl in his head. After what happened that morning, now was not the time to bring something like that up. He opened his mouth to demand that Church stop, but Simmons cut him off.  

"Did you even take a look at who my father was? Cause if you had then maybe you'd know why I wouldn't broadcast the fact that I'm a walking corpse." Simmons ground out. Breathing harder now. Stepping closer to Church he stared the vampire in the eyes. "I'm guessing they didn't bother to mention in any of those files you read the fact that _they_ lit the building on fire!" He snapped. "I'm guessing he didn't want to talk about the fact that he was just- just covering up the evidence as best as he could, so it didn't get out how much of a fucking monster he is!"  

Grif reached out for him, but Simmons flinched back. Not wanting to be touched. He's panting now. Memories of the screaming, of the heat closing in on him. It's all too much. He thought he was over the panic. Over the overwhelming need to get out. He clutched at his left arm, trying to keep himself under control. To stop talking and leave this situation, but he can't. Now that he's finally getting it off his chest the words won't stop coming. 

"Do you know what it's like feeling your heart stop in your chest? Knowing you're dying. _Again._ Only instead of waking up on the edge of the river you've just drowned in with your mom crying over you, this time you wake up in your friends basement and you hate him just a little bit for that because you just wanted to _stay_ dead this time! So fuck you Church! You don't have to trust a fucking word that comes out of my mouth, but nothing gives you the right to go rifling through my life!" Simmons turns from him, slamming out of the apartment. Leaving a deep silence behind.  

"What the fuck..." Church breathed after a beat of silence.  

Tucker rounds on him. "Why didn't you tell me any of that before? If you thought he was some kind of fucking spy, you should have said something!"  

Church grinds his teeth. "I didn't." he defends. "I just thought that maybe he might know the guy, I didn't mean to trigger whatever the fuck that was." His head snapped around when a low whine came from the couch. 

Grif stood there staring at the door with look of absolute rejection on his face. Church opened his mouth to demand to know what was wrong with him when he remembered the way Simmons flinched away from him. Shit. Of course the wolf would feel upset by it. And with how emotional Simmons had gotten Church wasn't surprised that the wolf was that close to the surface. Grif probably doesn't even realize he's whining. 

"Dude!" Tucker snapped. Breaking Grif's stare. Grif looked over at him worriedly. "Go!" He shoos Grif out the door. Grif doesn't hesitate. Rushing from the apartment after his mate. 

"I didn't mean to." Church whispers to Tucker. The other man shakes his head resigned.  

"I get it dude. You didn't know he would react like that. But he has a point." Tucker says, looking at him harshly. "You didn't have any right to poke into his life like that." 

"Thing's weren’t adding up. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't a threat to you." Church admits. Feeling a bit ashamed now. Tucker leans over and places a kiss on his cheek. 

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to." He says quietly before he feels a tugging on his shirt. Tucker looks down at his son and finds the boy looking up at him with teary eyes. "Shit. Hey little man. It's okay." He soothes. 

Junior shakes his head. Reaching his hands up for his father. Tucker picks him up and carries him down the hall to his room. Leaving Church standing there unsure what to do. In the end he decides to go after Grif and Simmons. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *i've updated the first chapter for plot changes.*
> 
> I'm not sure i like how this chapter turned out, but it was already done, and i didn't want to rewrite it, It just feels kinda rushed though.


	17. Burning memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wash bumps into someone he probably should have been avoiding, and Simmons makes some potentially dangerous decisions.

Wash was walking back through town after his two day camping trip. Hoping he would be able to catch Maine, or that the man would sense him close by and come to him. He's come back empty handed. He was starting to doubt that Maine was here. Despite what his senses where telling him. Despite the strength of the link in his head that connected them. 

He had felt the moment Maine had gotten control of himself. It had lasted little more than a few minutes. But it had been enough to convince Wash that he could help the man. If only he could find him. 

As he passed by the front of the bakery he got a flash of someone's memory.  

_Burning. Everything was burning. The heat licked at his body and he was trapped. Make it stop! Make it Stop!_ _He had to help the others. He had to get the cages open!_ _They were going to Die!_ _Make it Stop! Please!_  

"Fuck!" Wash gasped, stumbling to a stop. He whipped around to look for the person projecting and spotted a tall man hurrying around the corner. He quickly jogged after him. "Hey wait!" He called after him. 

He turned the corner and found himself standing in an alley. The tall man he'd been chasing was pressed up against the wall. He had his face buried in his hands, gasping for air. Panic rolling off him. It's not the first time Wash has seen someone going through a panic attack. Hell he's had them often enough that he knew the routine by now.  

"Go away." The man gives a muffled groan. 

"Are you okay?" Wash asked. After seeing a glimpse of this guys brain it was a moot question, but one he asked all the same. 

The man shook his head.  

"What's your name?" He tried. 

The man lifted his face to look at him strangely. "Uh- Richard." The man responded quietly. 

Wash frowned. There was no way he would just bump into _that_ Richard on the street. Right? He wasn't that lucky. "Okay, Do you live nearby? Or... is there someone I can call?" 

 "I... don't want you to call anyone." He answered. He paused, thinking something over. "I want to go home." 

"I can... drive you or something if you need a ride." Wash offered. It would also give him a chance to see if this was the Richard his friends have been mourning for months now. 

Richard frownd, confused by the offer. "Why would you do that?" He asked. 

"Cause it's the right thing to do?" Wash shrugged. If he told this guy the real reason he'd probably think he was crazy. And there was a reason he was hiding in this town, right? 

"I- Thank you." He gave Wash a nervous, yet oddly determined smile. Pushing off from the wall he followed Wash to his car.  

"So where do you live?" Wash asked. 

"Just outside of town. You follow the main road and it's the first left turn."  

"Bonner drive?" Wash asked, going through the map in his head. Glad he'd spent the first day in town memorizing a map. He hadn’t been up that way yet.  

Richard chuckled hoarsely. "Yeah that's the one." 

Wash nodded. Starting the car and pulling away from the curb.  

"So uh, what's your name?" Richard asked. 

"Washington, but just call me Wash." 

"Are you new in town?" He sat rubbing at his left arm, staring out the window instead of looking at Wash when he asked this. 

Wash paused. Unsure what to tell the man. He didn't know how he would react to the truth. "Uh... Yeah, you could say that. I'm staying here until I figure out where to go next." He said. It wasn't really a lie, so he didn't feel that bad saying it. 

"Oh. If you're an Unusual, they have a place you could go." Richard said. "They'll take you in and help you get on your feet." 

Wash smiled at the offer. This kid sounded a lot like North. "No, it's okay. Thank you though."   

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.  

They passed a cabin that sat back hidden behind a cluster of trees before coming up on an off white colored cottage. Clearly having seen better days, but slowly being fixed up going by the new hand railing up the front step and the ladder propped against the side of the house.  

"This is the place." Richard says quietly. Like that wasn't obvious, considering it was the last house down this drive. 

Wash doesn't say that of course, he simply pulls up to the quaint little building and waits for Richard to get out. 

The other man pauses half way out of the car. "Do you... Would you like some coffee or something?" 

Wash stares at him curiously, one eyebrow arched in amusement. He sees the moment Simmons catches on to how that sounded. His face flushes darker than Wash would have guessed. 

"I uh-" The poor guy begins to stammer. "I mean- I'm not- I feel bad for making you drive all the way out here." 

"Yeah, I'll come in." Wash says, rolling his eyes. How was this guy related to the twins? Poor kid could barely get a word out when nervous. Climbing out of his car he follows Richards into the house. Eyes darting over everything out of habit. Well... and curiosity. How did the cousin of the legendary Dakota twins live? 

So far it seemed he lived a very reclusive life. No one moved out to the middle of the woods for the neighbors. His eyes catch on something as they pass through the living room. A large bone, one you would buy from a pet shop, sitting near the fireplace. 

"You have a dog?" Wash asks. Looking back at his host. 

"No, uh- my neighbor does. They come over a lot." Richard answers, glancing over to the bone. "I bought it on a whim really. I don't even know if he likes them." 

Richard appeared to be a terrible liar. Wash frowns, but doesn't bring it up. Instead he follows him into the kitchen and watches him root around for a clean cup.  

North, Wash decides, would love this place, the rustic and cozy feeling it gave off. South on the other hand would take one look and demand Richard get new furniture, if not move altogether. The thought ultimately reminded him that the Twins, or at least North, was planning to show up in a week or two.  

Richard places the steaming cup of coffee in front of Wash and leans back against the counter. Staring intently at him. 

Wash doesn't squirm under the stare. His training keeping him perfectly still. He's seen this look before. On the twins when they have a puzzle, or a question they're trying to figure out. It's usually best to wait it out. 

He's just taking a sip of his drink when Richard speaks. 

"Do I know you?" He asks. 

* * *

By the time Church caught up with Grif the other man was standing in an alley completely still. 

"What are you doing?" Church asked carefully. Not sure how upset the wolf was with him. "Where's Simmons?" 

Turning to face Church, the other man could see just how far gone Grif was. His eyes wide and wild as the wolf edged closer and closer to release. In answer Grif held up a maroon colored sweater.  

Church frowned. "Okay, that's his sweater... where is _he_? I'm talking about the _person_ Grif. Where is the actual person?" 

Grif shook his head. "Hunter." He managed to get out between clenched teeth. 

Church stilled, scenting the air, sure enough the scent of the Hunter lingered. "Why would the hunter have him?" He asked reasonably.   

Grif shook his head again. "Church... I'm not- I can't think-" He growled. Unable to say what he needed. 

Churches eyes widened. "Okay yeah, no. I need you to hold out until we find Simmons. You need to have a clear head when we find him. Do you understand?" He asked, mostly to the wolf. 

Grif stared at him, the glowing in his eyes dulling as the wolf released his hold. 

"You good?" Church questioned. 

Grif nodded. "Can we go?" He bit out. 

Church nods, hurriedly shuffling him from the alley. "Yeah, we'll check his house first alright. Tell the wolf that we don't need it terrorizing the town and causing a scene." 


	18. Fanning the flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wash is at a loss of what to do. Simmons is terrified and confused. Grif loses the control he never really had.  
> Church just wants to go home and pretend things weren't going to shit.

Wash pauses, looking up at the man across from him. "No." He answers.  

"That's what I thought too... But Church said that _you_ know _me_ , or know _of_ me." Simmons says slowly. "How can that be if I've never met you?" 

Wash sets the cup back down and studies Simmons body language. It would be easier to simply ease himself into the mans head, but he won't do that. He promised himself he wouldn't do that to anyone after leaving the program.  

Arms crossed over his chest, tells Wash that the man's on guard. The way he only holds Wash's eyes for a few seconds before glancing away, tells him he's nervous. The way his feet are beginning to flex inside his shoes, tells Wash that he's prepared to run. 

"You and your friend must be confused. I don't know who you are." Wash answers cautiously. "I just got to town." 

"You're lying!" Simmons exclaims, his voice cracking nervously. "I can tell you're lying. Who are you? Why do you know me?"  

They stare at each other for a minute in silence. Wash can tell the longer this goes on the antsier Simmons is getting. Why? What was he afraid of? 

"I know you're the Hunter from town." He claimes. "You shouldn't leave your gun in the backseat of your car." Simmons adds anxiously. "I know you're looking for the Shifter that was around here the other day. But why would Church say that you knew me?" 

Wash stays silent. Unsure what to say, still processing what he'd said about Maine. So Maine was nearby? He'd actually been seen here? That lessened the heavy feeling in Washes heart. 

"Is... Is my dad looking for me?" Simmons asks quietly. "That's the only way I can think that you would have heard of me."  

Simmons looks so terrified of that happening, that Washes pauses before another lie can pass his lips. He takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh. 

 "I know your cousins." He finally admits. 

"Dimitri and Lesya?" Simmons asks, a hopeful tone in his voice that makes Wash think that this was probably a better solution than lying to him. Not that that was getting him anywhere, Simmons picked up on his lies quicker than his old councilor had. 

"If you mean North and South, then yes, them." 

Simmons smiles. "They still go by that? I would have thought they'd stop once they left." 

"They think you're dead." Wash says bluntly. "Well _thought_ you were anyway." 

"You told them I'm here?" Simmons asks nervously. 

Wash nods. "I thought they would want to know." 

"How'd _you_ even know I was here?" Simmons asks. 

"One of your friends mentioned you while I was at the bakery when I first got to town." Wash explains. 

Simmons eyes narrow. "Grif, that mother fucker." 

"Can I ask you something?" Wash questions.  

Simmons gives him a measuring look. "I guess?" 

"Why were you afraid your father was looking for you?" He asks. Curiosity getting the better of him. It wasn't often that he asked these questions of people. 

Simmons gaze shifts to stare out the window behind Washes head. His eye glazing over at the question. 

Before Wash can speak he once again gets a glimpse of memory, sharp and overwhelming. 

_It's too hot. So stuffy. It_ _'_ _s_ _only a matter of time before the fire reaches him. He's already choking on the smoke. He can hear his fathers words still ringing in his ear. Disappointment. Waste of an experiment. He was going to die with those words being the last thing he hears._ _Somehow_ _it was better than his mothers anguished cries._ _There was no one to bring him back this time. He was fine with that. It was better this way._  

Wash is snapped from the memory when the sound of a snarl from the doorway startles Simmons. Washes head snaps around and he watches as the man from the bakery, the one who let Simmons name slip, barged into the room past him. Marching over to Simmons. Grabbing him roughly by the shoulders, he yanks the man down to his height.  

"Don't you ever- Ever think that!" The man growls.  

Simmons stares at him with eyes blown wide, he looks stricken. "How-" He breathes. "How did you-" 

Washes eyes widen when he realizes what's happened. He broadcasted. When Simmons memory hit him he had reflexively broadcasted the memory to stop it becoming too overwhelming to his system. If he hadn't done that there was a chance he would have actually relived a memory that wasn't his, or he could have sent Simmons into a spiral of his dark memories through a backlash of Simmons own empathic abilities. 

Wash opens his mouth to explain but someone's putting a hand to his lips and quietly shushing him. Turning he finds himself staring into the red eyes of a vampire, shaking his head and motioning him to back away from the two. 

Following him they pause outside the room. The shorter man obviously wanting to listen in to the conversation. 

"It doesn't matter." The man, Wash figures must be Grif, growls. "It doesn't matter. How could you think- How could you possibly think that burning alive was for the best?" 

"You don't understand!" Simmons says defensively. "You don't know what I had to go through, the things I've caused. The people I've hurt just by being near them." 

"That's bullshit. I know you. I know how much just raising your voice bothers you. I don't believe you've hurt anyone unless you had to." Grif argues. 

"I've gotten people killed!" Simmons yells.  

There's a tense silence that follows. Both men panting harshly.

Looking over Wash finds the vampire looking shocked, like he couldn't believe what Simmons had just said. Honestly knowing who Simmons was related to did nothing to hamper Washes own disbelief. 

"Bullshit." Grif denies quietly. 

Simmons growls. "Just... listen to me." 

"Then talk! Quit telling me to listen if you aren't going to explain anything!" Grif snaps. 

"I... I've killed people. Just by being around them. Just by existing." Simmons begins quietly. "My mother was the first. She gave up her life because i made a stupid mistake. Ever since then the people around me just keep dying!" He snaps, his voice strained and shaking. "When I found out what my dad had been hiding from me I couldn't... What would my mom have thought of me if I had left those people there? I thought, I could finally do something with this shitty life I'd been granted. And I did. I freed those people. But my dad... He didn't... He didn't even look twice at me before he flipped the switch to kill me. But I was _fine_ with that. I'd done what I went to do. I did something worth dying for, and no one was around to bring me back..."  

He stared down at Grifs hands, still gripping his at his shoulders. "Then I woke up in my friends basement. I woke up and I just... I didn't want to be back. I was dead, and he brought me back... He sentenced himself to death. Just to save me. Why? Why would he do that?"  

He sounds so sincere when he asks it that Grif can only stare at him horrified. 

"How can you ask that?" He finally manages to ask. "Can you really not understand why he did it?" 

"I'm not worth it." Simmons stresses. "I'm a mistake. A freak. I can't do anything right, even if it's dying. There's something wrong with me!" 

It's apparently the wrong thing to say. Grifs grip tightens, causing Simmons to wince in pain and squeeze his eyes closed. Even with his eyes closed Simmons can see the wolf is right on the edge of taking over. The usually molten orange color surrounding his friend was quickly being overtaken by the wolves forest green shimmer. 

"Why do you keep talking about yourself like that?!" He demands. 

Simmons winces again when he feels Grifs claws beginning to emerge. "Grif-" 

"Fuck!" Grif jerks back. Realizing what was happening. He stumbles back, hitting the wall as he attempts to calm the wolf thrashing in his head. "I don't get it!" He growls.

Wash moves towards the door but an iron grip on his arm stops him. 

"Do not go in there. The last thing he needs is a hunter in the same room as his mate." The vampire says coldly.  

"His mate?" Wash frowns. Then the image of the dog bone comes to mind. The realization still did nothing to curb the urge to move into the room and remove Simmons from it, but the mans hand is still wrapped around his arm. 

"The best thing you can do is move farther away from the door, the less he can smell you when he loses control the better. And trust me, he _will_ lose control."  

"Grif?" The sound of Simmons voice decides his choice for him. The man sounds frightened, but not for himself. 

"Fine. One wrong move and I come back in here." He states, shaking his arm out if the vampires hold. He marches to the front door and slips outside. 

Back inside the house Church is standing as still as inhumanly possible. He's worried about what the wolf might do in this distressed state. He's known Grif for years and he's never seen the man like this, not even when they tried to kill each other. Not even when his sister had fought with him over control of their pack during her maturing period.  

He didn't know if he should step in the room and put himself between them, he knew without a doubt that the wolf wouldn't like that. He was hoping that with the Wolves fondness for Simmons, the chance that he'll attack him is slim. 

"Grif, it's okay." He hears Simmons whisper soothingly. "You can change here, remember. I gave you permission." 

Church can hear the uncertainty in his voice, he knows the wolf hears it too, but he also hears the sincerity. 

The sound of fabric tearing draws Church closer to the door. He waits a few beats before peeking in.  

Simmons is crouched down on one side of the kitchen, while on the other the wolf stands in the remains of his shredded clothing. Panting, eyes wild and focused at once on Simmons. 

Before Church can so much as twitch the wolf is across the room, slamming into Simmons hard enough to send the man back into the counters behind him with a pained grunt.  

Church starts to move into the room but the sudden snarl in his direction freezes him in place. He studies the scene frantically. From what he can see of the human, Simmons doesn't seem to be hurt. There's no scent of blood, but he can smell panic and fear. 

The wolf whines, low and pitiful. It nudges it's head against Simmons and keeps it there. Waiting to see how the man reacts. Wanting to show it's mate that there wasn't anything wrong with him. It knows that it's frightened him by the sudden assault, but its human side is just so bad with words. It was easier to show its mate, than try and explain. 

After a few minutes it feels a shaking hand slide through the fur under it's ear. Holding on with a loose grip, Simmons leans into the wolf. 

"I'm sorry." Its mate whispers. 

The wolf snorts harshly. Reprimanding. It wanted no apology. 

"I didn't mean to make you upset." Simmons presses. 

The wolf realizes that Simmons still didn't understand. The wolf whines. Licking Simmons cheek morosely.  

"Oh gross." Simmons huffs. "You don’t have to cover me in your slobber you know." He grimaces. 

The wolf starts to back away when a faint scent catches his attention. The wolf growls low, turning towards the back door. He knows this scent. It's the thing that attacked his pup. The Shifter. The wolf snarls. 

"Grif?" Simmons questions. He starts to climb to his feet but the wolf butts him with his head, knocking him back over. "Hey! What the hell?" he looks towards Church for answers but the other man just shakes his head in confusion. 

"I have no idea what his problem is." Church shrugs. 

 "You don't think..." Simmons trails off. 

Church picks up on what he's saying. "I fucking hope not." 

They're interrupted when the Hunter bursts into the room. Gun slung across his back. 

"We have a problem!" He announces. 

"Does this problem have nine inch claws?" Church sighs in resignation. Watching the way Simmons stares off in the direction that the wolf is looking and blanches. 

Wash grimaces. "He doesn't have control over himself." he defends. 

Church stares Wash down. "Great. More fucking mind control." He growls. 

"What's happening?" Simmons questions. The wolf still not letting him stand. 

"There's about to be a bear at your backdoor." Church answers. "Grif, you need to let Simmons up so he can get out of here. Escort him to the hunters car." 

The wolf growls at him, moving away. Simmons scrambles to his feet. Hand reaching out to bury in Grifs fur anxiously. the wolf pads from the kitchen with Simmons trailing after. Together they walk down the path to the waiting car. 

"Shouldn't we call someone about this?" Simmons asks.

The wolf rolled its eyes. Amused that Simmons still asks him questions that he can't answer verbally. It found it endearign that Simmons would still converse with it like it was its human side. Treating them separately, yet the same. It was something very few outside its pack did.

The wolf stiffened when it sensed movment behind them. Before Simmons can reach out and grab the handle of the car door the wolf in snarling behind him and tackling him to the dirt. 

Rolling over confused, Simmons vision is filled with a blinding white aura. In the split second between confusion and terror he realizes what's happened. Somehow the Shifter has snuck up on them. 

The wolf rolls off of him, placing himself between Simmons and the shifter standing a mere six feet away. Grif lowered, preparing to launch himself at the bear. 

"Wait! Maine!" Wash yelled as he shot out of the house. "Stop!"

Simmons scrambled to his feet, backing away from the unusuals. He watched in horror as the wolf lunged towards the shifter. 

"Grif!" He screamed. His legs moving him on autopilot towards them. 

"Don't!" Wash shouted reaching out to grab him. 

As his fingers brush against Simmons shoulder, the panic and terror building in Simmons crashed over the two men in a wave of emotion and memories. Both collapse to their knees in pain clutching at their heads. 

"Stop!" Simmons cries at the memories of a man he doesn't know, shouldn't know, surging in his mind. 

"I can't!" Wash gasps through the feelings of pain and fear from the other man. Wash grasps at his powers, attempting to block Simmons mind from his own. It's not working, the flood of emotion making his grasp weak and shaking. "Simmons calm down!" Wash demands. 

"I-" Simmons chokes off. "I don't know what's happening!" 

Wash desperately tries to reach through the sudden link in their heads and numb the mans mind, but he's being blocked at every turn by the mans own natural wall. In one last attempt to stop the flood before it can shred their minds Wash lashes out, fist connecting with Simmons head knocking the man out cold. 

The sudden emptiness in his head feels like the snap of a rubber band. Wash collapses gasping for air. His vision wavering. The last thing he sees is the vampire running towards them. 

When he comes back to the waking world he's lying in a bed, in a darkened room. He can sense another mind near him. 

"Glad to see you awake." The vampire says, seated to his right. 

"What happened?" Wash asks. 

"That's kinda what we wanted to know." The vampire sniffs. "Since you're the only one that's woken up." 

"Simmons is still out?" Wash asks feeling a bit guilty. He hopes he didn't give the man a concussion or anything. 

"Simmons, Grif, your bear buddy. All pretty much comatose." The other man drawls. 

"Grif and Maine? They're alright? They didn't hurt each other?" Wash asks, making an attempt to sit up. Only to be pushed back down. 

The vampire flashes his teeth at him in a mocking sneer. "Oh I wouldn't go that far. The only reason either of them is breathing is because they had someone screaming in their heads too loudly to rip each other apart." He explains. "So we kind of wanted to know what the fuck happened?" 

"Simmons started-" 

"Don't lie!" The vampire snapped. "Simmons doesn't have the kind of power I saw out there. What did you do?" 

"Shut up and listen to me!" Wash snapped back at him. "Simmons started to panic when the Meta attacked! When I reached out to stop him from getting between them he started projecting his emotions and in turn I started projecting mine and we accidentally started a feedback loop through each others heads. The only way to make it stop was to knock him unconscious. I didn't even realize we were broadcasting." 

"Simmons can't project." The vampire states. "He's not an empath." 

"Then what is he? Cause he certainly isn't human." Wash said quietly. 

"It doesn't matter right now." The vampire stood from his chair and made his way to the door. "Your bear friend has been put down below until we determine if he's a threat or not." 

The door clicked behind the vampire softly. Leaving Wash in the darkness of what he could only assume was a room at the Farm that Simmons spoke of. He felt trapped. He hated feeling like this. It made him irritable. The last thing he needed was to give these people more of a reason to distrust him by being snappy.

So for now, he would go along with whatever they had planned for him. At least this way he knew where Maine was.

He just wished he didn't have such a bad feeling about all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a long chapter because now i'm stuck and unsure how to take the rest of the plot cause this is all i had vaguely planned out. Now it's all winging it from here (like i wasnt doing that before right).
> 
> I made up names for the Dakota twins... i've always headcanoned them as russian... so... idk...
> 
> We may or may not be nearing an end... i haven't decided yet.  
> So while i scramble around for plot i might update Being a little purple.


	19. Enter the Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> double entendre's for the win. Lol 
> 
> Wash meets a few new people, some friendly... some not so friendly.

Wash was accustomed to the kind if waiting that left him locked up. The kind of waiting that decided his fate. He was used to passing the time in his own head. Sorting himself out and preparing responses to predictable questions and situations.

He'd picked the skill up a long time ago. Back when he was sent to the institution by his parents. When they thought there was something 'wrong' inside of him.

 Wash looked up as footsteps from the hall came to a stop outside his room. The door slowly swung open. Revealing an elven woman, tall and imposing. Regal would be a word used to describe her. Battle weary, would be the term Wash would choose. She looked tired. Like she hadn't slept in days.

"My names Vanessa Kimball. I help run this facility." She introduces. Holding out her hand as she steps closer.

An elf that's accustomed to human greetings. Shaking hands wasn't generally done between elves. Touching wasn't generally done between unattached couples. Not when they were so sensitive to magic.

"I'm David Washington. Its a pleasure to meet you." He replies. Shaking her gloved hand. It's not a lie. She was odd. She would have to be a little odd to help run this place, he reasons.

"I'm sorry about the circumstances of our meeting. We take great care to protect the people of this town. We haven't had very good run ins with hunters before." She states. Taking a seat next to the bed.

"I was only here looking for my friend." Wash informs her.

"The shifter. I know. Will you tell me how he came to be here?" She asks.

Wash preferred keeping his business strictly his own, but he knew if he wanted to get out of here with Maine he needed to get these people to trust him. Meaning he'd have to tell the truth in a place like this. If Simmons could see someone lying to him, who knew what the others in this place could do.

"He went missing two months ago. Got up in the middle of the night and disappeared from our apartment. I'm lucky I found him. We're linked telepathically, but its still hard to pinpoint a location smaller than a few miles."

"Do you know why he targeted Simmons home?" Vanessa asked.

Wash frowned. He hadn't thought about that. "Maybe he sensed me nearby. But he's not in control of himself. There's something wrong with him."

"I'm aware. As soon as we put him in the numbing chamber he shifted back.  He woke up a few hours ago, he's suffering a magical hangover. Our doctor informs me it was caused by an influx of forced magical absorption."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning someone was pumping him full of rancid magic. Rancid magic is a tainted magic used my malicious creatures. Tucker and Church think he had someone in his head. Rancid magic is a good indicator of that being the case." Vanessa sighs, rubbing her eyes. "Mr. Washington, this wouldn't be the first time we've had a problem with mind control in this town. I fear it won't be the last, but while I live here I won't let a single thing terrorize the people of this town. So if you can tell me anything that would help put this to rest. Anything at all. I would be thankful."

"I'm sorry, I honestly can't think of any reason why someone would bring him here." Wash says truthfully. "It wouldn't be the first time someone's played around in his head either. I'm going to make sure it's the last though. I'm here to help if you need it. Maybe we can work together, kill two birds with one stone."

Vanessa smiles. "I was hoping you'd say that. We need all the help we can get. Thank you Mr. Washington."

"Please, call me Wash. Is there any way I can go see Maine soon?" He asks.

"We want to wait until we're sure the rancid magic is gone and he has complete control before we let him out. Unfortunately, we can't allow you into the vault due to some of our guests. I'm sorry. I understand how frustrating it must be, knowing he's so close." She smiles sadly, standing from her seat. "You're free to leave your room when you feel ready."

"Thank you." Wash mumbles as she leaves the room.

As soon as the door closes Wash is up and out of bed. Changing into the clothes left on the bedside table. Despite being told he wasn’t allowed to see Maine, didn't mean he was going to sit in this room all day. He might as well get a layout of the grounds.

Slipping on his shoes he stepped out of his room, and nearly collided with a young surly looking man who snarled at him on his way passed.

"Sorry about him." A young woman laughed nervously as she hurried after him. "Our pack leader just woke up." She explained before rushing off.

Pack leader? Were they werewolves? Does that mean Grif was awake? It wouldn't make sense to have more than one alpha in a small town like this. 

"You Washington?" A voice asked behind him.

Wash turned to look at a young girl smiling up at him. "Uh… Yeah. Who are you?"

Instead of an answer his face is met with a fist. The girl who'd asked his name throwing a punch hard enough to send him to the floor.

"Kai! Woah!" Tucker was running down the hall toward them.

"What the fuck?" Wash slurred. Holding his face where shed hit him. He looked up at her and found her staring down at him like he'd murdered her cat or something.

"You think you can just show up here and attack my brother you _Hunter_!" She snarled. "He was finally safe here! You come and you ruin it!" She takes a step towards him. Claws slowly extending from her finger tips. She had the signs of an Alpha wolf all over her.

 "Kai Stop!" Tucker orders, grabbing her upper arm. It wouldn't very much if she decided to attack. "It wasn't him. He tried to help I swear."

 "Then tell me why my brother was comatose for a week!" She demands.

 "There was a shifter, someone was fucking around in his head." Tucker explains. "Drove him almost insane and sent him after your brother."

 Kai pauses. "Mind control? Again? I thought that guy was locked in the basement?" She asks, stepping back away from Wash to look at Tucker. "Why would they target Dex?"

"He is. We don't know who's doing this. We need Washes help, please don’t kill him, you'll upset Sheila." Tucker sighs. "Besides Grif wasn't the only one attacked. Simmons was too."

 Kai frowns. "Who the fuck is Simmons?" She asks.

 Tuckers face brightens. "Oh man he didn't tell you?"

 "Tell me what?"

"Dude, your brother found his mate!" Tucker says excitedly.

Kai's face drops. Wash almost thinks she's upset by this news, then her mouth widened into an impossibly large grin. "Tell me everything." She orders. Grabbing Tucker by the arm and dragging him away. Leaving Wash standing in the hall with a bruising cheek.

Wash sighed. Rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Worst fucking month ever, of all time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;-; i'm not dead, and i havent abandoned you. I've been fighting writers block, starting new depression meds (the cause of said writers block, ive been all out of sorts), and streaming games. But i'm back. And hopefully better than ever.
> 
> The next chapter we'll be taking a peek at what bitters and matthews were up to for the week grif, wash, simmons, and maine were out cold.


	20. Calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grif is awake and ready to kick ass. Kai is having none of it.

Grif felt like a vein in head was going to explode if Bitters and Palomo didn't let go of him as he thrashed on the bed. He'd woken with a single thought ringing in his head.

Simmons was in danger.

"Grif please!" Palomo pleaded as Grif thrashed against him again, trying to break his hold.

Grif snarled at him. "Let Go!"

"We can't! You're hurt!" Jensen spoke up from the other side of the room. "Vanessa said we should keep you in here." 

Grif snarled, snapping his jaw. A move that was more wolf than human. 

"Dexter Grif! If you don't calm your ass down I'm going to shove you into a kennel!" Kai snarled as she marched into the room. "What's wrong with you! Look at your pups!"

Grif glanced at his three pups. Palomo gripping his arm and breathing heavily. He looked stressed and on the verge of shifting. Bitters didn't look much better. Dark circles under his eyes and a stress tremor in his hands. Jensen was practically becoming one with the wall, the way she plastered herself against it.

Scared and tired, these kids were on the verge of breakdowns. Grif was not helping. As their alpha he was supposed to be calm and together. Leading them and helping them through their condition, not triggering forced changes from stress.

Grif and the wolf seemed to calm. Now looking around he rationalized that being in the farm meant that there was no immediate danger. There was also no sight of Simmons.

"He's next door." Jensen announced. Guessing the reason for his aggressive behavior. "He's still sleeping. But Grey says he seems to be okay."

Grif's shoulders slumped. Slowly Bitters and Palomo released his arms.

"What happened?" He asked. Looking at his sister he frowned. "Why are you here?"

Kai rolled her eyes, hands on her hip, she tisked at him. "Well you know, when you get a call telling you your only family is in a coma you kinda panic and leave school to rush over and see them."

Grif blanched. "Coma?"

"It's been a week." Bitters stated. Arms crossed as he hovered over Grif.

"Magic hangover is what Grey said. Simmons and Wash started a crazy rave in your brain." Kai explains. "According to Church, Wash said Simmons had a magical build up in his head and the stress of the attack released it when Wash grabbed him to stop him from jumping in to save you. Since Wash can project thoughts and memories it started a broadcast loop through your heads."

"It saved your life actually." Tucker snorted from the door. Grey hovering behind him. "What were you thinking taking on a polar bear man?"

Grif chews his lip. "I- Simmons was in danger." He mutters.

"Ah, so you weren't thinking." Tucker snickers as Grey pushes past him.

"How are you feeling? Any soreness? Headache? Nausea?" She interrogates.

"No, more irritation than anything else." 

"Oh good! I was worried for a while that you'd probably never wake up. As it is Simmons still hasn't twitched. Maybe you can help."

After getting himself dressed he was allowed into Simmons room. The sight of his mate unconscious and deathly still created an ache in his chest. This wasn't right. He should have done better.

He felt his sister put her hand on his shoulder and squeeze. "At least you have good taste." She joked halfheartedly. "How'd you snag him?" She asked. Placing herself on the floor next to the bed while Grif sat in the chair.

With a small smile he told her how they met. They talked long into the night, until both were curled up on the floor as wolves, dozing but not asleep. A protective gesture. Two Alpha's watching over the room of one's injured mate. Kai had no urge to fight her brother for leadership anymore. She didn't want the responsibility of it. Besides her brother was happy here. She wouldn't take that away from him.

She couldn't wait for Simmons to wake up so she could tell him every embarrassing thing her brothers ever done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead and i'm still working on this!


	21. Intermission of young love.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthews doesn't want to do this anymore.  
> Church has a heart and if you tell anyone he Will kill you.

Church is passing through one of the atrium's on the farm when he spots a lonely figure seated by themselves in the shadows of the room. Church pauses. Something in the depressing sight strikes him. He'd been observing the kid for the past few days. Noted how they and bitters seemed at odds.

Church walks over and sits down next to the dejected looking Pixie. 

"You know, I used to be a giant asshole to Tucker. My boyfriend." Church says quietly. Fidgeting with his phone in his lap.

Matthews frowns, looking up at the man next them. "What changed?" They ask. Glad that someone in this place is talking to them.

"Well it's pretty fucked up actually," Church says with a small smile. "A few years ago something bad happened in this town. A man walking around that could control people with his mind. He tried to use me to kill Tucker so he could steal his kid." 

Matthews blanched. "What happened after that?" They asked.

"Well I broke down his door and sunk my fucking teeth into his neck." He clenches his fist into his lap. It's clearly not something he likes to remember. "If our friend Caboose hadn't been there, I would have killed someone I cared about."

"Sir…" Matthews wasn't sure where this was going.

"After that I avoided him as much as I could. Every time I looked at him I could taste that blood in my mouth and the blood all over my hands." He sighs. "A month went by like that until he used Caboose to break into my house. He was pissed. Kept going on about how it wasn't my fault and all that bullshit, but it still feels like my fault you know?" He looks over at Matthews, who nods.

Matthews can see where this is going now. It's something that's been eating at them since they've come here. "I think they're trying to make me part of the pack." They say. "They do things that are pack habits. Jensen fed me yesterday. That's something only pack does. Smith wanted to play hunt, but i had to turn him down cause of my wing. It's..." They trailed off.

"Weird." Church finishes. "That's just the way Grif's raised them. He's a pretty odd dude himself."

Matthews nods. "I know they're doing it cause of Bitters, but... I don't think Bitters wants me around right now." Matthews admits. Thinking about all the angry looks Bitters has been giving them when one of the others talks to them. "I've been trying to give him space but the others seem determined to drag me around like a new sibling. Even though its up to Grif if I join the pack. I don't want them to push, you know?" Matthews asks desperately.

"I get it. When Tucker started trying to date me, I just… couldn't. I was scared I'd hurt him. Afraid I'd wake up covered in his blood again, but that crazy motherfucker doesn't know when to quit."

"So what do you want me to do?" Matthews asks.

Church frowns. "Just be his friend dude."

"But he doesn't want me to be his friend! I already fucked that up!" Matthews shouts. They cover their mouth with a hand and look nervously over at Church. "I'm sorry." They stand, embarrassment flush on their face, wanting nothing more than to flee to their room.

Church catches their wrist. "Matthews..." Church starts slowly. "If he didn't want that, the others wouldn't be trying so hard to be your friends." He points out before letting Matthews wrist go. Standing from the bench he begins to walk away before pausing. "Uh, Matthews?" Church turns back to them. His own face flushed. "Could you not tell anyone about the stuff I said?" He asks.

Matthews nods.

Church looks relieved. "Thanks, I would have had to kill you if you'd said no." He turns and quickly hurries off.

Matthews slowly makes their way back to their room. Nearly empty, a lack of personal belongings, no knickknacks. Nothing but clothes and a toothbrush. It was lonely. They hadn't been allowed a roommate due to their blood hunger. They were a danger to others. Just one mistake away from the Vault. The fact that they hadn't been allowed to leave the Farm cementing the fact that these people didn't trust them.

Matthews could feel tears stinging their eyes as they climbed into bed. They tried to ignore the ache in their chest for the Other Side. For the roaming Pixies that had been Matthews adopted family for the last few years. They'd been trying to help Matthews fight the blood hunger. It had been working too. Matthews had felt confident in their ability to control themselves. They'd wanted to see Bitters. To show him how good they'd gotten at control. Then the pack had been attacked by that angry Fae. Now Matthews was here.

Locked up tight and back to blood detox. Only they were without the support of the other Pixies. Left shivering at night alone as they shook through the bloodlust. The singing in their veins. Matthews door was locked from the outside at night. A precaution to protect not only the other residents but Matthews as well. Some of the other Fae and Fairie might not take kindly to a blood hungry Pixie wandering around.

Matthews lay curled up until the buzzer of the lock sounded on their door, signaling it was lights out.

Another night of shivering alone in a swath of blankets as they ignored the hunger. Matthews climbed out of bed. Knowing they needed to keep their mind active and distracted. They walked over to the small table that had been pushed to the corner. Sitting down in the single chair they began to root through the books Vanessa had been kind enough to leave for them. Matthews pulled one out of the pile about human history. Hoping it would be interesting enough to keep their mind off the singing, or boring enough to put them to sleep.

Matthews parsed through the book well into the night. Until the shakes got so bad they could no longer hold the book, or focus on the words detailing the first Human World War uniting them with Unusuals.

They dropped the book on the table and began pacing around the room. Unable to keep still.

Needing a distraction. They thought back to the first time they'd taken flight. A push from their mother sending them over the edge of their small home. Tumbling down towards the forest floor. It had been a reflex. As natural as breathing. Hovering in the air in such a vast new world. It had been exciting. Had given them the sense of freedom for the first time in their lives.

At the time Matthews had been no bigger than four inches. When Pixies are born they are barely the size of an acorn, smaller even in Matthews case. Adult Pixies when their natural size were no bigger than eight inches.

Matthews was short for a Pixie. Only coming up to six inches. At human height Matthews was about 5'2. A short height for humans. Short even for a Fae. They'd been the victim of many bullies in their youth.

Matthews shook off those thoughts. Not wanting to remember that time in their life. Instead they thought back to their mothers smile. Her gentle encouragements. Their fathers loud laugh, his bright smile.

Without meaning to Matthews found their thoughts turning towards their time in the labs. The moment their family was taken from them. Men in odd suits showing up on the Other Side. Somewhere they shouldn't have been able to get to without help from a Fae or Fairie. The screaming as the men trapped and killed many Pixies in their attempts to collect samples and test subjects.

The weeks in the cage had been the worst of Matthews young life. The uncertainty of their fate gnawing at them as family member after family member was taken away. Never to be seen again.

Then their turn had come. Just a simple observation test. The man had said. The affects of bloodlust in a Pixie. They'd force-fed them blood until Matthews was puking. When nothing too bad happened they'd thrown them into a cell with a frightened wolf bitten human. About the same age as Matthews themselves.

Bitters still put up the uncaring front even then. Right up until Matthews was sobbing in the corner of the cell, afraid to get closer to the human, should the singing in their veins become too much. Bitters had taken pity on the Fae. Offering blood freely while whispering calming things into their ear.

Not much had changed on the outside for Matthews, save the blood markings. Strange swirling patterns on their skin that had developed soon after they began feeding on a living blood source. After six months the scientist had decided that the observation was getting them nowhere they separated Bitters and Matthews. Moving Matthews to a small cage once more. That had been the last they'd seen of Bitters until the escape. By then Matthews had begun to go blood wild. They'd forced themselves to turn away from their friend and fled to the Other Side to keep him safe.

The shakes becoming too much for them to stand. Matthews curled up against the wall farthest from their door. They could sense every pumping vein that passed outside their door. They bowed their head between their knees and took shaking breaths. Suddenly needing to get more air into their lungs.

They couldn't do this. They couldn't. Not again. It was too much. The singing in their veins thrumming painfully, surrounded by so many Unusuals. 

Matthews crawled over to the table and grabbed the small portable panic button Vanessa had gently placed in their hand the first day. Telling them that if it became too much. Got overwhelming. To press the button and she would have them moved below. To a numbing chamber. As much as Matthews didn't want to lock themselves away in another cage, they couldn't very well go through anymore of this. They were shaking apart with every thrum of bloodlust.

Matthews curled up on the floor and pressed the button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this written months ago. I just wasn't sure where to plop it into the story. Now seemed like a good place considering last chapter was really short. The follow up to this is next of course, and it's already written. But i broke it in half to give more suspense to the story ;p


	22. Intermission of young love Pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh how Bitter hate's the taste of regret.

Bitters was pacing the hall. Unable to settle down. Hadn't been able to while Grif and Simmons had been unconscious.

Since Matthews had taken residence here he could feel his wolf tossing and turning in his mind. Knowing the Pixie was here, locked away in yet another cage, left a bad taste in his mouth.

So Bitters found himself pacing the halls. Closer and closer to Matthews room each night.

The wolf urged him to go farther. To check up on their pack mate. Reminding Bitters of how it had been helping Volleyball through her blood hunger.

The poor turned vampire unable to control herself. Jensen and Bitters had been the only ones with experience around blood hungry Fae. So they'd volunteered to help her.

Bitters ground his teeth and found himself turning away from Matthews rooms. He was still angry. Still hurt. Matthews had been the first. His first encounter with a Fae that hadn't ended in unconsenting bloodshed. His first friend after the bite had taken hold and begun to change him. His first pack mate when the wolf had woken scared and alone, but not alone, because Matthews had been there. Whispering soothing words from across the cell to give him space. The wolf had appreciated that. Had deemed the Pixie worth keeping.

When the men had taken Matthews they'd had to sedate the wolf. Bitters unable to keep control for days afterwards as the wolf attempted to find a way out day after day. Needing to find Matthews. And when the chance had come. Matthews had run the other way. To the Other Side to be with other Pixies.

 

Now they're back. The wolf stated. Back because they missed us. They replayed the memory of Matthews words.

That didn't change anything. Bitters argued. Not understanding why the wolf wasn't more upset.

Pack is pack. No matter how long they're gone. The wolf pressed upon him. A memory of something Grif had said when asked about his mother pack. Matthews needed them. The wolf pleaded.

"Excuse me." A large Ram-Troll looking hybrid said as they slipped passed Bitters, startling him form his argument with the wolf.

Bitters watched the large Troll move down the hall, going the way Bitters refused. A feeling of dread settled in him.

Go! The wolf demanded.

Bitters obeyed. Walking quickly after the hybrid. He came upon a small group of Fae standing outside Matthews room. Vanessa speaking lowly to the Troll.

The wolf was instantly on edge.

"What's going on?" Bitters demanded. Marching up to the group.

The Troll turned towards him and shook his head. Speaking in gravelly broken standard. His voice new to sounding out human language. "You do not want to be here pup. Pixie is being moved. Is dangerous for you to stay."

Bitters looked to Vanessa for explanation.

"Matthews is being moved below to a numbing chamber until we can figure out how to help them." She said slowly. More for the wolf than Bitters.

"No." Bitters bit out. He could feel the wolf on the edge. Inching for control should Vanessa not listen.  
Beside Vanessa the Troll straightened, sensing the threat.

"Bitters-" Vanessa tried.

"No. It's bad enough they're stuck in another cage, I'm not letting you take them down there!" Bitters growled.

"They want to do this Bitters." Vanessa explains calmly. "They pressed their panic button."

"I don't care!" Bitters snaps. "You gave a panic button to a kid that's sick and in pain! What did you think was going to happen?! Now you want to take him down with - with the Fae that can't control themselves? I'm not going to let that happen!" He turns to move towards the room. Only to have theTroll block his path.

"Dangerous." The Troll repeated. The other Fae shuffling away already. Not wanting to be part of this in case it turns into a fight. No one looking forward to explaining to Grif why his pup was battered up if things got messy. Grif wasn't so laid back when it came to the young ones safety and health.

"Move!" Bitters and the wolf snarl. He can feel his teeth begin to elongate as the wolf bleeds together with his conscious.

"Let him go." Vanessa orders. "Bitters." She says as he shoved past the Troll. "Feeding them blood won't help them get better."

It takes the last of Bitters self control not to flip her off as he slips into the room and closes the door behind him. He did like Vanessa, she was only doing what she thought was best for them. It was just the fact that Matthews was different. He was pack and you didn't just send them away or lock them up when they needed help.

His eyes adjust easily to the darkness. Spotting Matthews is easy. Seeing the state they were in was harder. Curled up on themselves and clutching that stupid button to their chest.

The wolf retreats back to let Bitter have more control over his emotions. Now is not the time to have split control.

As Bitters steps closer Matthews curls tighter on themselves. Whimpering softly.

"Matthews." Bitters breathes. Coming to kneel down next to the body shivering on the floor. "I'm not giving you consent to feed okay? I need to know you understand that."

It takes a moment but Matthews gives a jerky nod. "N-N-Not sa-safe." Matthews stammers.

"That's okay." Bitters answers. Reaching out to rub Matthews back. "If you want me to leave, I will." He offers.

Matthews shakes their head. "Dont- Alone." They manage to get out. Bitters gets the gist of it.

"Not alone." He says. "I'm here now." He wraps his arms around the Pixies shoulders and pulls them closer. He can feel the shivers running through the small body.

"This is wh-why I couldn't come back." Matthews stammers after a while. The shaking in their body calmed slightly. "This is why I c-couldn't be around you."

"You're around me now, and you're doing fine." Bitters responds.

"I worked hard for this." Matthews breathes. Memories of cold nights being locked in a small cage by their own kind running through their mind. It only happened on the bad nights. On nights they tried to attack others. The Pixie group they'd been with had been understanding with them, patient. The leader having found Matthews on the verge of losing themselves completely, hungry and alone. They'd taken the blood hungry youngling in and helped them through the worst of it. Until they no longer needed the cage most nights.

Matthews hadn't meant to stay longer than a day or two. Just enough to see Bitters before they left once more.

"I shouldn't have fed you my blood." Bitters says regretfully. "I probably set you back. I just... I didn't know what to do. You were hungry."

Matthews shakes their head. "I should have stopped you."

"You were hurt and out of it. You weren't thinking properly." Bitters says, gritting his teeth.

"You were trying to help." Matthews says, falling quiet after that.

"That's not an excuse to do what I did." Bitters says. Running a hand through Matthews silver curls.

"I missed you." Matthews whispers.

"I missed you too." Bitters whispers, holding the pixie tighter.


End file.
